Anti-Smacking Referendum Jubilation

Opponents to the legislation subsequently collected 310,000 signatures in a petition forcing the Government to agree to a referendum.
Anti-Smacking Referendum Jubilation
8/24/2009
Updated:
8/24/2009

NEW ZEALAND—New Zealanders gave a resounding “No” vote, last Friday, to a referendum which asked, “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?”

In 2007, despite overwhelming public opposition, the former Labour Government passed an amendment to Section 59 of the Crimes Act denying parents the right to use reasonable force to discipline their children.

Opponents to the legislation subsequently collected 310,000 signatures in a petition forcing the Government to agree to a referendum.

The referendum has battled against constant opposition claims that a referendum was unnecessary and the amended law was working well. They also claimed that question to be voted on was “confusing” and “flawed.”

Despite a landslide by voters opposing the legislation, the Government seems unlikely to change the law.

In an interview on TVNZ’s Question & Answer programme on August 24, Prime Minister John Key admitted that the referendum showed that parents were concerned about being arrested for “lightly smacking a child.”

“I think there are some things that we can potentially do that don’t involve a law change, but would involve ensuring that their level of comfort that the law is working is maintained.”

Possible changes could occur in the way the police investigate claims, said Mr Key, ensuring that parents wouldn’t “be criminalised for lightly smacking a child.”

OneNews later reported that there would be “an independent review of the referral of smacking cases” but the law would only be changed if it could be proven that innocent parents had been “wrongly charged.”

The referendum is not binding, but lobby group, Family First is asking the Government to urgently amend the legislation so that parents are not treated as criminals for administering a light smack to their children.

“The 87.6 percent of New Zealanders who voted NO are not people who are demanding the right to ‘assault’ or ‘beat’ children,” said Bob McCoskrie, National Director, in a press release.

The law reform had failed miserably those children who were the victims of child abuse, he said.

The referendum had been attacked by all political parties, except the Act Party, and government funded agencies including the Families Commission, Plunket and the Children’s Commission.

New Zealanders were annoyed by the attitude of “we the politicians know better than you and we’re not listening.” said Mr McCoskrie.

The referendum essentially was “a battle between the huge majority of New Zealanders and the politicians,” he said.

Prior to the passing of the anti-smacking legislation in 2007, Prime Minister Key held quite a different stance on the proposed legislation.

In a speech to the Salvation Army, Mr Key had said that the “bill as it stands will criminalise good parents who occasionally smack their children lightly.”

“Proponents of the bill say that doesn’t matter; that in reality no one is ever going to be prosecuted for lightly smacking their child.

“But if the reality is that no one is ever going to be prosecuted for lightly smacking their child, then don’t make it illegal. Don’t make it a crime. It’s poor law-making to write a very strict law and then trust the police and the courts not to enforce it strongly.”

Following an agreement, with former Prime Minister Helen Clark, Mr Key agreed to support the legislation.