Some child abuse cases in NZ - since Section 59 amended - update

For updates please go to:

http://familyintegrity.org.nz/category/some-child-abuse-cases-in-nz-since-section-59-amended/

390,000+ signatures

Re-Presentation to Parliament of Petition against the ‘anti-smacking/anti-correction law’. June 23rd, 2008.

390,000+ signatures

Christian comedian Charles Marshall Spanking bit 1

Christian comedian Charles Marshall Spanking bit 1
Rate:
5.0
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Re: Pro Choice Propaganda

THANK YOU KEN ORR & RIGHT TO LIFE (and Andy)

FI-342-U4L; New Total, weekend events

25 January 2008 - Family Integrity #342 -- U4L; New Total, weekend events

From: Craig Hill [mailto:craighill@maxnet.co.nz]
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 8:31 AM
Subject: U4L; New Total, weekend events

Hi All,

It's starting to happen folk.

The grand total running into the weekend is now 273,000 signatures, unfortunately, due to a technical hitch our web site won't be updated for a couple of days. We are working on the problem.

One of the main objectives of Unity for Liberty was to be a vehicle that all like minded groups on this issue could use and work through. To defeat this bad law we need to have unity which will lead to liberty. Rodney Hide from the Act Party has stepped up to the plate, he used his time on Radio Live this week to raise the issue and promote Unity for Liberty as a downloading site for the petition, we thank him for this.

Below is a short testimony and an appeal from a person who did the hard yards at the beginning of the campaign and helped to get the ball rolling, followed by some appeals from coordinators.

After being involved in fighting this 'Anti smacking bill' through organising protests, ringing Radio Live, collecting signatures etc.... I thought I'd done enough and that it was someone else's turn.

I wanted to let you know that after seeing how close we are, I'm more determined than ever to get as many as I can!

So I started today, hitting the back streets of Feilding and gathering signatures - they want to sign!!
Tonight while picking up fish n' chips I got 4 signatures from people waiting. I keep a clipboard in the car and also approached two building sites.

I'm seriously thinking of heading out to Ratana south of Wanganui -30,000 people there for the next day or so? Can anyone help?

Sandra
0272466199

Starting from the North down:

Rodney

We plan to set up a booth at Orewa's A&P show on the Western Reserve this coming Sunday 27th January with the CIR petitions and signs. We need people to man the booth and collect signatures outside the booth. 4 people per time period would be good. Please register your interest with me asap.

9.00- 12.00 Peter & Arna Mountain. (We unfortunately have another engagement at 1.00pm)
12.00- 2.00pm
2.00- 4.00
We would like the last person will be responsible to take down the gazebo and pack up the trestle tables and return them to the Mountains, 24 Duncansby Rd
Stanmore Bay.

Arna Mountain
rodney@unityforliberty.net.nz
021 166 2924

West Auckland

Helensville A&P Show has been confirmed, still waiting for Kumeu. Dates to be announced next week.
John:
027 471 7099

South Auckland

Monday night door knocking, Next Monday meeting between 6-6.15pm in the Covenant Church Carpark, 77 Rogers Road, Manurewa. Contact Gaylene gaylene@unityforliberty.net.nz or 021 076 7211. The following week will be Manukau New Life carpark as well. Also our tables will continue.

Parachute

If you wish to help please contact:

Larry Baldock
021 864 833

Hamilton

Steve, our new coordinator is going well with locations around the Waikato, there are initiatives running from Te Rapa to Cambridge. Looking for volunteers.

Steve
hamilton@unityforliberty.net.nz
021 963 626

Catlins

Taieri Show Saturday 26th January manning tables, gathering signatures in the crowd. Great team at this Show, come along and enjoy the people while getting those final signatures .

Waimumu Field Days Gore 13th, 14th, 15th February manning tables, gathering signatures, pouring the coffee!!! Great event come and help and enjoy this amazing Southland Event.

Natalie
catlins@unityforliberty.net.nz
027 217 4666

Don't forget the others who may be in your area.
tauranga@unityforliberty.net.nz
hawkesbay@unityforliberty.net.nz
lowerhutt@unityforliberty.net.nz
westcoast@unityforliberty.net.nz
chch@unityforliberty.net.nz

Thank you
Craig Hill
021746113
http://www.unityforliberty.net.nz

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing" (Edmund Burke 1729-1797)

Media-Smack in the middle of hysteria

Smack in the middle of hysteria

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/smack-in-the-middle-of-hysteria/2008/01/23/1201024992191.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

Miranda Devine
January 24, 2008

Illustration: Ed Aragon

At the gym one day during the holidays a mother was struggling with a shrieking toddler. The child had worked himself into hysteria and the sounds of his distress gave new meaning to “piercing” for those of us caught in the maelstrom. In the shower at first I thought I was hearing a hurricane ripping off a steel roof. Apart from prompting a flash of admiration for such energy and stamina from so small a set of lungs, the sound was deeply disturbing.

It continued for five or 10 minutes. All over the gym, from the pool to the women’s changing room, concerned gym-goers tiptoed towards the source of the sound to determine the cause of distress, retreating in embarrassment when they saw the mother, sitting passively in the face of such fury.

She seemed calm, if hunkered down, not remonstrating with the child, in fact scarcely acknowledging his drama, just unemotionally absorbing the noise at close quarters. Perhaps she was deaf.

On top of the incivility of subjecting others to the noise in a not particularly child-friendly establishment, her zen-like refusal to even try to dim the din was annoying.

Everyone else was powerless to control the volume and was waiting for her to do her job, or at least to remove the child to a place where his noise would not be amplified by porcelain-tiled walls.

What was her plan? Was she so exhausted by a difficult child that she could only cope by remaining silent? Or was she merely exercising a modern form of permissive parenting?

It was obviously not what the child wanted - he needed a reaction to all his effort, though after a while he was beyond reason. It can’t have been what the mother wanted, and it sure wasn’t what anyone else in the gym wanted.

People wanted to reach out and help the wretched woman and her poor child, but were at a loss.

How do you tell a women her child needs a good smack?

Remembering the bossy older women who used to exasperate my friends and me when our children were younger by offering unsolicited snarky advice about our tots’ perceived public misbehaviour, I hesitate before casting judgment on other mothers. We even started a joke support group, “Mothers Against Meanies” (MAM) to get the nosey-parkers to back off.

But, seriously, what happened to discipline? Little in the history of parenting has ever proven as effective as a sharp rebuke or, dare I say it, a swift smack on the bottom that acts as an instant “reboot” of a naughty child.

Some people will never agree with corporal punishment. But that doesn’t mean they can’t or shouldn’t control their kids; it’s just more complicated. For their own sake as much as for the children, not to mention the rest of society, they should at least try.

In the ABC-TV program The Madness of Modern Families, on Tuesday night, a British father described meal-times in his child-led household: “There’s been times when we’ve cooked a healthy meal and plonked it down in front of the children and then seen them eat nothing and worry they’re going to wake up in the night, and think it’d be easier to cook them another meal now.”

That’s not good parenting. It’s a recipe for monsters.

This reluctance by well-meaning modern parents to enforce fair, firm, quickly administered discipline is creating havoc with the generation into which infamous Melbourne party planner Corey Delaney (aka Worthington) was born.

The 16-year-old with the pierced nipple and trademark yellow sunglasses achieved international notoriety when he threw an out-of-control party while his parents were away, attracting 500 teenagers and the police riot squad.

He doesn’t seem a bad kid, and was at least trying to sweep up the mess the next day when TV cameras descended. His refusal to be intimidated by A Current Affair’s school-marmish interviewer was commendable. It’s his ineffectual parents, Jo and Steve Delaney, who are the problem, with their posturing TV interviews, “open letter” to newspapers and utter inability to command their son’s respect.

“He’s devastated,” Jo Delaney told one program while her son was on a rival channel boasting about “the best party ever”.

Public opinion on the internet advocates a firmer approach. The website www.slapcorey.com, has an image of the spotty, barechested teen, and a hand you can click to administer the punishment. By yesterday afternoon almost 650,000 people had indulged.

The Delaneys seem typical of a subset of laissez-faire baby-boomer parents who haven’t learned to say “No”.

Data from a new NSW Government parent helpline shows a crisis in parental confidence, with 20 per cent of calls from parents tearing out their hair about how to discipline their unruly offspring. And a study last year from the Vanderbilt Medical Centre in Tennessee found a third of parents believe their discipline methods are “never” or only “sometimes effective”.

Perhaps working parents try to outsource discipline and training of their children to nannies and other carers in the mistaken hope that family time will be calm. Perhaps step-parents are reluctant to mete out discipline, concerned the child will not recognise their authority.

Meanwhile the anti-smacking lobby is flexing its muscles, with the Australian Childhood Foundation pushing for a national law, following New Zealand, to prevent parents using corporal punishment. The Federal Government last year even gave them $2.5 million to fund a campaign warning parents not to smack.

The idea is that banning smacking in the home reduces violence in society. But common sense and the facts say the opposite, that lax parenting leads to more aggressive children.

The Norwegian bullying expert and psychology professor Dan Olweus has shown that “overly permissive parenting” actually creates bullies. No one wants to go back to an era in which children were seen and not heard, or belted when they were bad. There is plenty to admire about today’s parents, who are involved and interested in their children’s lives, and treat them with respect.

But there is a sensible middle ground, in which a firm “No”, even the odd smack, or raised voice, does not make you a bad parent. At the very least, if permissive parents want to give their misbehaving children free rein, could they please do it in the privacy of their own homes. Preferably with soundproofing.

Media - Gisborne Herald

Anti-smacking law likely to come under more heavy fire this year

The Gisborne Herald

http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/Default.aspx?s=3&s1=2&id=2924913200c34d588eb1b03c5ba41246Thursday, 24 January 2008

By Iain Gillies


Politicians look like being confronted, challenged and possibly embarrassed by the prospect of a referendum on the anti-smacking law later this year, almost certainly held in tandem with the next election.


Opponents of the controversial legislation initiated by Green MP Sue Bradford are now close to the 300,000 signatures necessary to force a citizen’s initiated referenda.

Almost 5000 signatures were obtained last weekend, including 1000 at the World Cup of Motorsport event at Taupo, 720 at a “blues, brews and barbecues” event in Hastings and other tallies from A&P Shows.

The current total of almost 268,000 represents a gain of 43,000 in the past two months, suggesting no diminution of public feeling on the issue.

Principal organiser Larry Baldock told The Gisborne Herald: “We’ve got to keep it moving, but we’re pretty confident we’ll be able to see this through to a referendum.”

Two petitions are being canvassed with a deadline of February 28 to obtain the signatures of at least 10 percent of registered electors and present them to the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The first — “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand? — is in the name of Aucklander Sheryl Savill, a mother-of-two who works with Focus on the Family and whose husband is a policeman.

The second, in Mr Baldock’s name, is “Should the Government give urgent priority to understanding and addressing the wider causes of family breakdown, family violence and child abuse in New Zealand?”

As a former United Future MP Mr Baldock has been the public face of the campaign since the petitions began circulating a year ago, with strong support from volunteers, organised groups and churches.

The terms for organising and conducting Citizen’s Initiated Referenda (CIR) are defined by legislation enacted by the Bolger administration in 1993, since when only two petitions have reached the point of forcing a plebiscite.

Interesting stuff . . . but even a referendum result is not binding on the Government.

Section 59 and Foster Children

From:
http://halfdone.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/section-59-and-foster-children/

Jim Mora on The Panel (note: audit link) yesterday spoke with with Mike Williams (Labour President) and Graham Bell (ex. cop). They spoke about the concerns of foster parents, raised earlier today in other media.It sheds some light on the issue, and makes a point that we have always made - that the new legal framework puts far more power in the hands of children than parents. This is then resulting in people choosing to avoid what was already an increasingly risky proposition - caring for troubled children.

Interview transcribed below.

Jim: … does this make sense to you panel?

Mike Williams: It does make a lot of sense to me and it seems to be that it could… um, if this is a problem a) they don’t’ tell us any numbers, is this two people have dropped out of 8 people, or, you know, 200 out of 800 - what is it, we don’t know. [actually, they said at least 10, so Mike is playing with the truth here just a little - S1] But it seems to me that you do not need to smack children to bring them up, I’m sure Jim you do not smack your own beautiful children and these people need training and that’s what should be offered to them.

Jim: I suppose so, … a lot of parents talk about this, we all hear people up and down the country discuss this and especially in the wake of the recent warning in Christchurch where that bloke was given a warning for ostensibly, ostensibly flicking his son on the head - isn’t that precisely the kind of trivial breach of the law that we were told would be more or less ignored?

Graham Bell: That’s right, and I said when this thing came out that it was just totally pointless, ill conceived, and was going to create problems, and was not going to stop the ill-treatment or murder of one child - it’s not going to prevent anything. These things have continued, there’s been another couple in Auckland since the, ah, this year, the bill is ill-conceived, a waste of time and it’s having more bad effects than good ones.

Jim: I take your point too mike and Allysa, and we’ll get her on in a minute and there’s a quote from her:

“These kids are really hard. They just don’t care who they hurt, and you need really special people to take them on. If you have a kid that is yelling and screaming at you, what are you supposed to do?”

Jim: So she’s talking about life at the coal face, and she joins, Allysa Carberry joins us now. Good Afternoon Allysa.

Allysa Carberry: Hi

Jim: So how bad is it, I mean, Mike Williams says how many people involved.. in your experience have left the whole area because of the new law?

Allysa: [points out that she was interviewed on a different topic]

Jim: nevertheless you do hold those beliefs do you?

Allysa: Ah, it’s the fear of being charged should you need to restrain a child or place a child in care, in time out. That’s a real fear. But there’s also, you know, caregivers are also leaving because of the statements that Brian Perkins made, about being dissatisfied with Child Youth and Family. So it’s not just one issue of why they’re leaving. Yes section, the repeal of section 59 is there in the background, but it’s a whole number of topics of why they’re leaving.

Jim: Hm, all right, so the headline “Anti-smacking worries push foster parents out” how accurate a reflection of your views and observations Allysa is that headline?

Allysa: The anti-smacking, it’s got nothing to do with anti-smacking as it states caregivers have never been allowed to smack foster-children.

Jim: [cautiously]Officially

Allysa: Officially [hard to describe the tone here - high I guess. One gets the impression that Allysa knows it happens and needs to happen sometimes] Um, they’ve never been allowed to do that but there have been kids, children in care that have been needed to be restrained because they were going to hurt themselves or others, and that’s… a real… fear that’s a really good possibility of it happening.........

Read the rest here at halfdone:

http://halfdone.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/section-59-and-foster-children/

FI-341-U4L, attention please

23 January 2008 - Family Integrity #341 -- U4L, attention please

From: Craig Hill [mailto:craighill@maxnet.co.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 9:24 PM
Subject: U4L, attention please

Hi All,

ATTENTION

RGENT, URGENT, URGENT.

By the end of the working week, we will achieved 270,000 signatures. This means the target of 300,000 sigs is not beyond reach. These signatures will be marched up the steps of Parliament on the 29th of February, "Our politicians will be kept honest".

TWO REQUESTS

1) Keep up the work, as the deadline approaches we can not afford to become complacent. Now is the time for all to step up and be counted, our future generations depend on us making this happen.

2) Send all petitions in as soon as possible, The count is based on received mail, please do not wait till the last week.

I wish to take this moment to thank everyone for all their effort to date, well done.

Our official count is 268,095 signatures, here is last week's counts

From Larry:

Official count was 263,145
Plus
2050 from our trip to Taupo and Hastings
300 Steve and Angela in Wairoa. (bad weather halved the crowd)
1200 last week +500 this weekend from Craig
500 Andy Christchurch
400 Marion, Elspeth and team in Tauranga Friday Sat. (more than 1000 this week, and yes I am proud of them. The per capita winning city prize is looking within Tauranga's sights now Andy J ! )

This gives the grand total of 268,095. Now since this figure was released we have received notice from Renton, he collected 700 at the Golden Bay A&P Show, plus 239 from the South Auckland door knocking group, another 30 from a friend and 110 from the Papakura table today. These figures are not included in the grand total.

NOW I'M GOING TO HEED MY OWN ADVICE AND POST OURS IN.

Below are some interesting registrations for everyones encouragement:

I am an expat from Epsom electorate working in Brunei. Can i sign the petition and e-mail it to you or must it be in hard copy? AB.

Greetings, I read your Website, and agree totally with the erroneous arrogance of present day politicians. Briefly, I also work overseas, so am limited with my time commitment in assisting. Just to give me that warm fuzzy feeling, I have expedited a Petition List, and will forward this to you when I have as many names as possible, plus forwarding the same to other Friends. I have 25 signatures already the first 2 hours, and will with certainly have more to follow. Thank you for making the first Move. Regards DL.

Thank You All,

Craig Hill
021 746 113
http://www.unityforliberty.net.nz

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke 1728-1797)

Media-Parent smacking ban is ruled out

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7194015.stm
Parent smacking ban is ruled out

Wales will not have the power to ban parents from smacking their children, the assembly government has been told.

The UK government said new law-making powers for the assembly government to protect vulnerable children would not extend to a complete smacking ban.

It said this would impinge on the criminal justice system, which is not devolved to Wales.

The assembly government said it still had the right to ban smacking in childrens' homes or by carers.

This comes within the boundaries of 'social welfare', which the assembly government has control over.

The Labour-Plaid coalition had asked for the right to legislate - known as a Legislative Competence Order (LCO) - on vulnerable children.

But Welsh Secretary State Peter Hain has written to First Minister Rhodri Morgan to tell him the assembly government will not be able to introduce a blanket smacking ban, based on legal advice from the attorney-general.

Some children's charities had supported the prospect, saying a ban would clarify a confusing issue for parents.

Deputy Health Minister Gwenda Thomas also told a committee of AMs that she was in favour of Wales having its own law.

But Family and Youth Concern, which researches the effects of family breakdown, said it was wrong to pass laws on how parents should bring up children.

Under the 2004 Children's Act, which came into force in January 2005, mild smacking is allowed but any punishment which causes visible bruising, grazes, scratches, minor swellings or cuts can result in legal action.

The assembly government said: "We have only just received correspondence from the secretary of state on this issue, and will want to consider carefully all of the points raised."

Media- Anti-smacking worries push foster parents out

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10487849
Anti-smacking worries push foster parents out
By Simon Collins

A South Auckland foster care group says a quarter of its foster parents have quit because of the "anti-smacking" law passed last year.

South Auckland Caregivers Association chairwoman Allysa Carberry said the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act, which allowed caregivers to use reasonable force to "correct" children, had made a chronic shortage worse.

"A quarter of our members have left because of section 59. I could rattle off about 10 in South Auckland. I know of many, many caregivers who have been longstanding caregivers but won't do caregiving any more. It's too dangerous.

"These kids are really hard. They just don't care who they hurt, and you need really special people to take them on. If you have a kid that is yelling and screaming at you, what are you supposed to do?"

Child, Youth and Family Services has faced mounting problems finding foster parents in recent years, as the number of children in care has grown by 18 per cent in the past five years to 5049, while the number of single-income families with one parent available at home for caregiving has shrunk.

However, other foster care groups said the smacking law was not a factor for their members.

Both Carolyn Hill, who chairs the national Family and Foster Care Federation, and Foster Care Auckland chairman Byron Perkins said they had not heard of any caregiver leaving because of the law change.

"People are leaving because they are dissatisfied with CYFS," Mr Perkins said. "It comes down to the whole area of professionalism and payments because both couples have to go to work to earn the money to pay the mortgage."

A CYFS survey published in November found that 71 per cent of its mainly-female primary caregivers now work outside the home - 20 per cent fulltime and 51 per cent part-time. Although 80 per cent of its mainly-male secondary caregivers have paid work, most are low-paid. Only 46 per cent earn more than $35,000 a year.

Three-quarters said the foster care allowance of $124 to $174 a week per child depending on the child's age did not cover all their costs such as transporting the children to school and other activities.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren convener Di Vivian said many grandparents were "frightened" by the new law, but she did not know of any who had given up caring for their grandchildren because of it.

A CYFS spokeswoman said the repeal of section 59 made no difference to the service's long-standing policy against any "physical discipline".

Also look at:
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2008/01/a_quarter_of_south_auckland_foster_parents_quit.html
and
http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2008/01/anti-smacking-law-damaging-foster-care.html

Christchurch this weekend

Hi team,

Re: Petition for referendum on the Anti-Smacking law.

If you are free to help out with collecting signatures tomorrow, please let me know - by email, or phone: 03 357 4599 (or) 021 1140 751.
We’ll be meeting at the corner of Cashel St. and Colombo St. - and if there are enough people, will run 2 tables.

We really need volunteers at this time, as we’re getting close to the deadline and it’s touch and go as to whether we can make it or not.

Kind Regards,
Andy Moore
http://www.equipbiz.co.nz
phone: 021 1140 751

FI-340-U4L, upcoming events W/E 19 Jan 08

18 January 2008 - Family Integrity #340 — U4L, upcoming events W/E 19 Jan 08

From: Craig Hill [mailto:craighill@maxnet.co.nz]
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 8:15 AM
Subject: U4L, upcoming events

Hi All,

Big weekends coming up, Larry Baldock is covering several events this weekend. If anyone can help with the race meeting in Taupo this weekend, please contact Larry on
021864833
There is also a Blues, Brews and BQQs in Hastings starting at 2.00pm on Saturday, if you are free also contact Larry on 021864833
And to all people who may be available to help at Parachute again contact Larry on his mobile

We also have new contacts, if you can help in the Hamilton area please contact Steve at hamilton@unityforliberty.net.nz He has tables this week that he would like help with

There is also West Coast westcoast@unityforliberty.net.nz again they are also looking for help.

Catlins is gearing up, contact Natalie at catlins@unityforliberty.net.nz

*

Gore Monday 21st January, Tuesday 29th Door knocking again in the area we will go in teams of two..

*

Taieri Show Saturday 26th January manning tables, gathering signatures in the crowd. Great team at this Show, come along and enjoy the people while getting those final signatures .

*

Waimumu Field Days Gore 13th, 14th, 15th February manning tables, gathering signatures, pouring the coffee!!! Great event come and help and enjoy this amazing Southland Event.

Don’t forget the doorknocking in Manurewa on Monday night. Last week we collected 450 signatures in two hours. Many hands make light work.
Meeting between 6-6.15pm at Covenant Church, 77 Rodgers Road, Manurewa. contact gaylene@unityforliberty.net.nz or 021 075 7211

All other areas would like to hear from anyone who can assist this coming Sat.

Looking forward to hearing from you,
Craig Hill
021 746 113
http;//www.unityforliberty.net.nz

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke 1728-1797)

Dominion Post Editorial

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4359329a26494.html

Editorial: Labour's lesson in innovation
The Dominion Post | Thursday, 17 January 2008

When Christchurch musician Jimmy Mason "flicked" his three-year-old son on the ear he thought he was giving him a lesson about road safety. Don't ride your bike near the road when you're told not to. What he was actually getting was a firsthand look at the Government's anti-smacking legislation in operation, The Dominion Post writes.

A nearby teacher took umbrage at his actions, an off-duty policewoman rang the office and, minutes later, Mr Mason found himself surrounded by six police officers.

"They were going to arrest me and were trying to ascertain whether it was safe for the kids to go home with me," he said. "It was pretty bizarre."

In time Mr Mason may discover, like many parents before him, that there are other, more effective ways to discipline his children and keep them safe.

If the anti-smacking legislation, championed by Green MP Sue Bradford, hastens that process it will have served a useful purpose.

But just as there is no such thing as a perfect child, there is no such thing as a perfect parent. Like children, parents get tired and irritable. Like children, parents occasionally do things they later regret.

But nothing that Mr Mason did appears to warrant the attention of six police officers, at least five more than the ordinary citizen can expect to show an interest when reporting a theft, burglary or assault.

Nor do his actions appear to warrant the warning that has now been placed on his record, though that could change as a result of a police review of discrepancies between Mr Mason's story and those of witnesses.

When the anti-smacking legislation was steered through Parliament last year, Ms Bradford and her Labour allies assured the public that the law change would not criminalise parents who administered a light smack to their children.

Technically they are correct in Mr Mason's case. He has not been charged. But he has been stigmatised, something that is likely to be of almost as much concern to the Government as it is to Mr Mason.

Labour believes the initial furore over the anti-smacking legislation has died down now that it has been in place for more than six months.

But publicity about such cases revives the damaging spectre of a nanny state interfering in the private affairs of citizens.

When voters go to the polls later this year they will not recall that National voted for the legislation alongside Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party as a result of a last-minute deal with its leader John Key, but that it was Labour and its allies who pushed the bill through, just as it was Labour that took the lead in legalising prostitution, establishing civil unions, banning unhealthy food from school tuckshops and outlawing smoking in bars and restaurants.

All are initiatives that fit with New Zealand's tradition of pioneering social legislation, a tradition that began when New Zealand became the first country to give women the vote.

But politicians with long careers in mind know there is only so much innovation the public is prepared to put up with.

Labour could yet pay a price for going too far too fast.

Read Lindsay Mitchell's comments on this editorial here:
http://lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com/2008/01/myths-about-pioneering-traditions.html

Where is the support for good Parents?

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0801/S00090.htm

Press Release: The Family Party
http://www.thefamilyparty.org.nz

Where is the support for good Parents raising their children?

Most good parents would confirm that bringing up children in 2008 brings many challenges.

“A comment by the Children’s Commissioner Cindy Kiro commending the public for intervening in a father’s discipline of his child is a worrying trend that concerns many good parents,” said the deputy leader of The Family Party, Paul Adams.

“I agree all the facts are not known, however let’s put our self in the fathers shoes for a moment.” Adams continued.

“Here is a father taking time out to take his two young sons on a biking outing, apparently a regular occurrence. This surely is to be commended. The younger son (2 years) has an accident beside the roadway and is hurt. The second son (3 years) does not understand the seriousness of the situation and the father being responsible for both of his sons, handles the situation in a manner he felt was appropriate for the safety of both boys.”

Adams says,” The Children’s Commissioner is NOT the authority on child raising – parents are. These parents need all the help that they can get. The emerging trend that the state knows best for all children is a dangerous fallacy.”

The Family Party has been actively door knocking in the Mangere electorate. A major concern is this anti-smacking law, which was opposed by many New Zealanders but forced through by the current Government.

“There is genuine fear and uncertainty amongst parents who have used traditional methods of corrective discipline such as smacking. Based on what I’ve seen, these are decent, law-abiding parents who know the difference between a smack and abuse. Nevertheless, there is a sense of disempowerment because parents fear being criminalised if they hold on to their traditional values and methods of discipline.

“The reality is we either encourage parents to discipline their children while they are young, or sadly, as in the case of too many New Zealanders the state will discipline them when they are older. Personally I prefer loving parental correction, rather than this over the top anti parent legislation we currently have to deal with.”

Blog-Section59

Blog-Section59

From:

http://section59.blogspot.com/2008/01/anti-parental-authority-law.html

Anti-Parental-Authority Law Criminalises Loving Father

Jimmy Mason was out for a walk with his two boys - Seth, 3yrs and Zach, 2yrs. They were having a great time learning to ride the bikes that they had recieved as an early Christmas present. Making their way along Cashel Mall in Christchurch, they came up to the Bridge of Remembrance.

This magnificent memorial was built as an enduring mark of gratituded to the thousands of young men from Christchurch who selflessly gave their lives to defend our Free Land of New Zealand from the tyranous usurpers, many thousands of miles over the water. They fought and died so that the generations that came after them might live in freedom and without fear of oppression from any government, whether it be their own, or a foreign governement.

As all little boys do, Seth and Zach crouched low over their handlebars, racing down the ramp leading down from the bridge, the path leading around a sharp corner. Seth, one year older than his brother, took the corner nicely. Zach however, struggled to keep control of his bike - and losing control, he smashed into the solid brick construction of the bridge. When his father ran up to assist his 2yr old son, he found him lying on the ground, holding his hand to his eye.

Seth had stopped at the corner. He looked down at his brother, lying on the ground, slipping in and out of conciousness. He saw the concern on his dad’s face, and heard him say “wait Seth, we have to look after Zach”. Whether or not he understood how serious the situation, it was with loving fatherly discipline that Jimmy flicked his son on the ear as he started peddling away.

An off-duty police-officer stood nearby, and she immediately reported the incident. With a few minutes, six uniformed police officers stood around the Man and his two little boys. As Jimmy cradled his injured toddler in his lap, one policemen pulled out his notebook as another pulled out his radio and spoke brusquely to head-office.

One can only imagine how scared the two little boys must have been, and the terrifying thoughts rushing through their dad’s head. How was he going to tell his wife that their children were going to be put into a foster-home?…

——————————–

Sue Bradford (Green Party MP):

Ms Bradford, the instigator of the anti-smacking legislation, says if an adult whacked another adult around the ear, they would be “marched down to the slammer.”

Ms Bradford says parents need to accept that it is no longer legal to hit children. She remains confident her anti-smacking laws will change what she describes as a culture of violence.

from http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz

Cindy Kiro, “Children’s Commissioner”:

Children’s Commissioner Cindy Kiro says she is pleased to see people in the community making a stand against violence towards children after a Christchurch man was reported for flicking his son’s ear.

“The most common cause of death by child abuse in this country is from injuries to the head. This should never be taken lightly.”

from http://www.nzherald.co.nz

——————————–

Kiro and Bradford, are both part of the huge bireaucracy of New Zealand. Kiro’s role as “children’s commissioner” was appointed by the Labour Government, and Bradford got into Parliament as a list MP. Neither of them represent New Zealanders. Bradford puts a spin on the case, labelling the flicked ear as a whack around the ear. In a statement to the media a couple of hours later, Kiro joins in the martyrdom of the caring father, firstly by honouring the off-duty police-woman that reported the incident, and then by linking child deaths resulting from being bashed on the head with a light flick on the ear.

Jimmy Mason:

“It was pretty bizarre to tell you the truth.”

“[The police officers] didn’t know and I said to them, ‘Well, you’ve just told me what I did was wrong so you must know what is right’.”
“It needs to be on record that I disciplined him for something he deserved, not that I’m a child beater. There’s an irony there that they can spray, Taser or shoot me but I can’t flick my son in the ear to stop him getting run over at an intersection.”

He was considering legal action to have the warning removed from his record.

from http://www.stuff.co.nz

——————————–

Seth and Zach are now confused, because they know that their daddy who they love is in trouble with the police. Jimmy is angry because he now has a warning on his record, and CYFS will be faster than ever to remove his children from him and his wife if they hear the slightest little thing.

Blog-halfdone

From:
http://halfdone.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/i-like-the-big-brother-society-kiro/

“I Like the Big Brother Society” - Kiro

Apparently Cindy Kiro is not only ok with the “Big Brother” dobbing in of parents trying to do their jobs, but she is actually pleased people are doing it.

Children’s Commissioner Cindy Kiro says she is pleased to see people in the community making a stand against violence towards children after a Christchurch man was reported for flicking his son’s ear.

“My office strongly supported the law change to section 59 because all the evidence points to physical punishment as ineffective and in the hands of some people, dangerous.”

Heh, here’s where the lie gets mixed with the truth. Physical punishment was not what was banned - reasonable force as physical punishment was banned. No one ever suggested that unreasonable force (which is not “dangerous” by definition) should not be illegal.

Dr Kiro said it was important not to jump to conclusions and view what facts had been presented in the case.

Great! so I guess we won’t be seeing more quotes like this then:

She told Radio New Zealand the school was “irresponsible” and “I don’t think
the school should be doing that.” The same criticism was reported in newspapers throughout New Zealand. On national television she described me as “seriously misguided”. All that despite not knowing what I had done. All that despite the law under which she works requiring her not to “make any comment that is adverse to a person if the Commissioner has not given the person an opportunity to be heard.” When I asked her about the illegality of her comments she would not reply. It was just one of many things she won’t include in the “discussion” she initiated.

I guess we shouldn’t examine the good doctor too carefully…

“The incident was such that at least two bystanders contacted police.

One was a teacher and the other an off-duty police officer and if they were concerned, then I believe there was something to be concerned about.”

On the other hand, the teacher may be a socialist busy-body, who bullied the policeman into calling up his mates for no reason. Yet another mark off the reputation of the teaching profession.

She said she was especially concerned when she heard the punishment included hitting the child’s head.

“The most common cause of death by child abuse in this country is from injuries to the head. This should never be taken lightly.”

Technically, the ear is on the head.

If parents needed information about how to discipline children without the use of physical punishment, they could contact the commissioner’s office for information, Dr Kiro said.

Funny how Ms Kiro doesn’t share any of that wisdom with us here. Frankly I think most parents would rather walk a mile over hot coals than walk into that office and ask for “help” from a woman who is only interested in persecuting good parents, ignoring her statuary obligation* to investigate bad ones.

Blog-darrenrickard

From:
http://darrenrickard.blogspot.com/2008/01/anti-smacking-law-puts-young-boy-at.html

Anti smacking law puts young boy at risk
The New Zealand Labour Party's chickens have finally come home to roost in a monumental way. The removal of section 59 or the "anti smacking bill", as it has become commonly known, midway through last year, has had another casualty, perhaps the worst one so far.

A Christchurch father who disciplined his 3 year old son who put his younger brother at risk, and was subsequently injured, was surrounded by six police officers minutes after a teacher(who would have guessed) witnessing the flick of the ear by the father informed an off duty female cop.

The father has been left with a warning by officers and a "black mark" noted on police records for attempting to keep his children safe from harm.

Apart from the obvious overkill by the six police attending and the stupidity of the off duty officer and teacher, the trauma that the 2 kids must have gone through seeing their father subject to extreme police harassment cannot be overstated.

The father's children will be getting a lesson from the whole incident that their dad has done something wrong, and that the lessons that he is trying to teach them are not to be believed.

When you undermine a parents authority in such a public way you risk that parents ability to bring up children in an appropriate way and ultimately keep them safe from harm, be it physical, psychological or emotional.

The politicians who trumpeted this sleazy law, Sue Bradford, Helen Clark and the various state bureaucratic heads and b grade celebrities, with the moronic support of the National Party are embarrassingly silent about this latest turn of events.

Those in support of the bill said that nothing like this would happen, it has, and after all, the sensible and intelligent amongst us we know it was designed to stop what this father did.

Those that supported this law change unflaggingly, should be voted against in the 2008 Election.

Labour, NZ First, The Maori Party, Progressives and Peter Dunne's Motley Crew do not deserve your vote on this law change alone.

John Key must be true to his word and repeal this change to sensible parenting and put the control of parenting back where it belongs.

In parents hands.


Related reading on Political Animal:

Trevor Mallard's Anti Violence Advert
http://darrenrickard.blogspot.com/2007/11/trevor-mallards-anti-violence.html

Interesting blogs

Some interesting blogs relating to the father giving his son a flick on the ear and 6, yes, six police turning up minutes later.

http://thepauapalace.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/father-wants-warning-removed-from-record/

http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2008/01/six_police_officers_for_smacking_complaint.html

http://big-news.blogspot.com/


http://nzconservative.blogspot.com/2008/01/doing-bradford.html
http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2008/01/is-anti-smacking-law-turning-us-into.html

http://obaldnz.blogspot.com/2008/01/slim-pickings.html
http://www.gog.org.nz/2008/01/15/another-smack-in-the-face-for-democracy/

Some Normal Families caught up with Police and CYFs since Section 59 amended,

Check out earlier cases here:
http://familyintegrity.blogspot.com/2007/11/some-normal-families-caught-up-with.html

Plus

DECEMER 2007

**Grandmother Warned by Police After Grabbing Grandchild Running onto Road South Auckland. This grandmother had to prevent her 2 year old grandson from running onto the road by grabbing his arm and pulling him back to the footpath. She was petrified that her grandson could be run over. A police officer witnessed her and said she was breaking the law by grabbing him. She was let off with a warning but was told that if it ever happened again, they would prosecute her. She had recently lost a friend’s child (6) to a train crash. (Takanini) She now puts him in the pram to avoid getting arrested. Her family is horrified by what's happened and she's now concerned about taking her grandchildren out in public. She feels she's been publicly humiliated. Another grandmother came up to her and said she'd been interviewed by the police for giving her 4 year old grandson a smack on the bottom in Countdown for swearing at her. The woman was taken to the police station to be interviewed. http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/index.cfm/cases.html

** Passerby Reports Squealing Child Auckland. Tanya had two police officers arrive on her doorstep as she was hosting visitors on a Saturday night. The police informed her that a ‘passer by’ had heard a child being smacked and subsequently screaming. They could not tell the mum what day this occurred on, what time or who the person was. She explained to them that her 9 year old daughter squeals when she plays, particularly when outside on the trampoline with her brother. She likes to play hard with her 13 year old brother – and inevitably she sometimes gets hurts – and performs! The mum says the passer-by could have heard her children 'playing' – “do I have to stop them having fun??” “We don't smack our kids (or if we have in the past, it has been minor) and this incident did not occur. I informed the officers accordingly. They insisted that they needed to see my daughter. I informed them that she was now with her father as we share custody. I gave them full contact details. They told me they would have to go around there to check she was OK.” “I have found the whole episode to be extremely distressing. I felt completely humiliated to literally be accused of child abuse and have now found it hard to sleep at night at it has upset me so much - how I look after and care for my children is being questioned. On hearsay I am now a guilty person. This new law is ending up with a lot of good innocent parents being wrongfully accused. This law needs to be changed.” http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/index.cfm/cases.html\

** We also know of a family where CYFs has taken the daughter because she was smacked when she swore at her mother.

** Eight year old’s Class Taught to Dob in Parents – Behaviour Deteriorates
Hawkes Bay. The police went to a local primary school and did a session on “Keeping Ourselves Safe.” During the session, the policeman told this particular class of 7 and 8 year olds that parents couldn’t smack them, and that if they did, they should immediately tell the teacher. This was not the only school in the area where this message was given. Within the next few days, this solo mum’s 8 year old daughter who had been in this session and who had had a ‘clean’ record at school all year was stood down for kicking the teacher in the leg. She also kept telling her mother “you can’t make me do anything - you can’t smack me”, following the lesson. Her older child (10) also told the mother that “you can’t make me go to school.”
The mother went to the police to clarify what they had said and to tell them the difficulties she'd had since their visit to the school. The Sergeant was obliging and said he would sort it out by sending the officer involved to speak to the girls and reinstate her authority. An angry phone call from the officer followed to the mother, questioning whether she had a problem with the smacking law. Two days later 2 male officers arrived to supposedly reinstate the mother’s authority but instead they questioned her parenting skills and told her they had investigated her background with a variety of community organisations. They had her in tears and she found them intimidating and degrading. They also proceeded to tell the children their rights. Yet amazingly the police said to the mother the daughter deserved a smack after kicking the teacher. The mother in desperation at her treatment spoke to her local MP, & was then contacted by the District Commander of the Police who told her not to go complaining to the MP because he had better things to do. The mother was traumatised by all this, and has laid a formal complaint with the Police but to no avail. http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/index.cfm/cases.html

**Mother Investigated After 4 Year Old Smacked For Running Out on Road West Auckland Jackie’s 4 year old ran across the road outside a busy supermarket when she saw a friend on other side of road. The mum smacked her on the bottom once to show her how dangerous her actions were. A member of the public challenged the way she had disciplined her child, took her vehicle registration, and the mum was visited by police two days later. She felt like a criminal and embarrassed by it all. She said “please don’t take my daughter” to the police. They did a police check to see if it had happened before. The Police (who had kids as well) told the mum they felt it was a waste of time. The daughter said “what’s wrong mummy,” and was upset by it all. http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/index.cfm/cases.html

JANUARY 2008
**Father warned for disciplining boy, 3. A Christchurch father is fuming after he received a police warning for hitting a child after he flicked his son's ear in public as a reprimand. Professional musician Jimmy Mason flicked the ear of his son, Seth, at the Bridge of Remembrance just before Christmas after the three-year-old disobeyed his instructions while riding his new bike....A nearby teacher took umbrage, an off-duty policewoman rang the incident in and in minutes later Mason was surrounded by six police officers. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4354765a10.html

FI - 339

14 January 2008 - Family Integrity #339 -- U4L, update 13 Jan

From: Craig Hill [mailto:craighill@maxnet.co.nz]
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2008 7:51 PM
Subject: U4L, update

Hi all,

The latest signature count is 259,385. And this doesn't include the totals from this weekend!

Last week's total:
Sth Akld Door Knocking 215
Chch fold on holiday in Akld 250
Hawkes Bay 98
Tauranga 745
Papakura 100
Howick 100
Otara Flea Market 180
Hokitika 301
Buller A & P Show 70
North Shore 235
Pukekohe 60
Total: 2354

Cheers,
Craig
021 746 113
http://www.unityforliberty.net.nz

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke 1728-1797)

Media - Father warned

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4354765a10.html

Father warned for disciplining boy, 3

By PHIL HAMILTON - The Press | Monday, 14 January 2008

A Christchurch father is fuming after he received a police warning for hitting a child after he flicked his son's ear in public as a reprimand.

Professional musician Jimmy Mason flicked the ear of his son, Seth, at the Bridge of Remembrance just before Christmas after the three-year-old disobeyed his instructions while riding his new bike.

The toddler took off down a ramp and was followed by his brother, Zach, two, who was also on a new bike. Seth made the tight corner but Zach did not, and injured his eye.

"Seth just wanted to go on riding. He didn't realise the seriousness of it with the youngest one slipping in and out of consciousness," Mason said.

"So I turned to Seth and flicked him on the ear and told him to shut up while we fixed up the young one," Mason said.

A nearby teacher took umbrage, an off-duty policewoman rang the incident in and in minutes later Mason was surrounded by six police officers.

"They were going to arrest me and were trying to ascertain whether it was safe for the kids to go home with me," he said.

"It was pretty bizarre to tell you the truth."

Mason said he took his sons biking every day and they needed to obey his instructions to the letter in order to stay safe.

"When I say 'stop' to the kids they have got to stop," he said. "I said to the cops that I need to impress upon him (Seth) what he did was wrong and I need to impress it on him straight away and asked them how they suggested I do it.

"They didn't know and I said to them, 'Well, you've just told me what I did was wrong so you must know what is right'."

In the end, Mason was not charged but he was told that a warning would go on his record for hitting his child.

"It needs to be on record that I disciplined him for something he deserved, not that I'm a child beater.

"There's an irony there that they can spray, Taser or shoot me but I can't flick my son in the ear to stop him getting run over at an intersection."

He was considering legal action to have the warning removed from his record.

He felt sorry for the police having to administer the amended child-discipline law which came into force in June last year.

Inspector Rick Jury said he could not discuss individual cases but the law gave the police some discretion.

"It says every parent is justified in using force if it's reasonable in the circumstances," he said. One of the specific clauses allowing some force was for the purposes of preventing or minimising harm, and the legislation allowed police to make a determination over whether it was "inconsequential" and not in the public interest to prosecute.

Family First national director Bob McCoskrie said cases like this showed the law was an ass.

"It just seems totally over the top," he said. "That's the problem with this law, it's lost the common-sense element. It's a feel-good law change but has done nothing to protect kids who are actually being abused."

A police spokeswoman said a review since the amendment found that between June and September last year police were called to three smacking incidents and 12 minor acts of physical discipline. The 15 cases were determined to be "inconsequential" and not worth prosecuting, although nine warnings were issued.

FI - 338 - U4L; This Weekend

11 January 2008 - Family Integrity #338 -- U4L; This Weekend

-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Hill [mailto:craighill@maxnet.co.nz]
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 9:59 PM
Subject: U4L; This Weekend

Hi All,

It's been a successful last two weeks, the Hawke's Bay team are leading the way and averaging 200sigs a day. Larry Baldock had a terrific day today with approx 1500sigs.

Grand total will be on web tomorrow night, still waiting for update. Will be between 256,500 and 258,000, and with a good effort this weekend, we should be at 260,000 plus.

The new equation will be something like 1125 folk x 40 sig = 45,000

This weekend most areas are all go, go to http://www.unityforliberty.net.nz/summer-challenge.html for your local contacts

LETS TARGET WELLINGTON

Our man in Wellington is working overtime to drum up some action, If anyone can help this weekend please contact him at lowerhutt@unityforliberty.net.nz

Wayne's Invitation

Hi all. I trust you had a wonderful Christmas and pleasant start to the new year.

I realize that the timing and the holiday period may not be particularly good for some of us but I am planning on a big push in Wellington on Saturday 12 Jan. I propose the venue be Cuba Mall. This obviously would be weather permitting.

While we have had some success with setting up a table on the corner of Cuba & Manners mall, I feel we could do better actually in Cuba Mall itself. I am hoping to set up the table AND have folks move about the crowd with clipboards.

For this to happen we need a good number of volunteers. For the size of Wellington, this shouldn't really be a problem.

Please could you consider being available for the 12th and if you know of others who would be willing to help, please could you involve them also. I really want to push this and bring our contribution up.

Many thanks

Wayne

I thank all those for their effort so far, now lets drive this thing home, we're in the home straight and looking good.

Craig Hill
021 746 113
http://www.unityforliberty.net.nz

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke 1728-1797)


A huge thanks to everyone that come door knocking last Monday night. Although the majority of the volunteers had never door knocked before, they went fantastically, and soon looked like pros.

Lets see if next Monday can go just as well. Meeting again at Grande Vue Reserve, we hope to finish off the Hill Park area. More volunteers welcome!

Hope to see you there.

South Auckland Door Knocking Group
Meeting together one night every week to assist in collecting the remaining 45,000 signatures for the Citizens Initiated Referendum (CIR) on smacking.

When: every Monday night over the Jan/Feb period. Meeting at 6pm, door knocking from 6.30pm - 8pm.
Where: around the South Auckland area. Location to be advised weekly.
Monday 14th January: We're meeting again in Grande Vue Reserve, corner of Grande Vue Road and Great South Road, Manurewa
Bring: pens, petition forms, and a clipboard (if you own one). A limited supply of clipboards will be made available each week.
Email: For more information, or to commit to one or more evenings, please contact Gaylene gaylene@unityforliberty.net.nz or 021 076 7211.

HELP DO YOUR BIT FOR OUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE. We only need a weekly commitment from 40 people, in order to collect over 1,000 signatures each week. Imagine how many signatures we could collect with even more volunteers....

NEW ZEALAND BANS SPANKING

http://groups.google.com/group/Bible-Prophecy-News/browse_thread/thread/8af861abe72cb932/48bb426efea41893?hl=en&q=%22Section+59%22#48bb426efea41893

NEW ZEALAND BANS SPANKING

This year three more countries banned spanking of children. In May New Zealand became the first English-speaking country to ban the practice. Over the past two months Uruguay and Venezuela have followed suit. New Zealand’s Crimes Amendment Act of 2007 abrogates section 59 of the Crimes Act of 1961 which allowed the “use of force” for correction of children. Activists such as Save the Children have fought to ban corporal punishment for decades. There are now 22 nations that ban spanking by law. Sweden was the first in 1979. Other nations are Austria, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, the Netherlands, and Ukraine. Humanists are fighting throughout the world to ban this practice, and the United Nations is pushing this agenda. It is a direct attack on God’s Word which exhorts parents, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15).

FI - 337 - U4L; Assault Charge

6 January 2008 - Family Integrity #337 -- U4L; Assault Charge

-----Original Message-----337
From: Craig Hill [mailto:craighill@maxnet.co.nz]
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 8:56 PM
Subject: U4L; Assault Charge

Hi All,

If you have not already heard through the media there was an incident at a table in Pukekohe on Friday. A woman tried to take and destroy collected signatures, the young lady manning the table managed to retrieve the signatures and was pushed to the ground in the process.

For your information, no doubt I will be accused of being negligent, however the young lady at the table is 18 years of age, not a child. Also, there was an on duty security guard who pulled the woman off the young lady. The media has already suggested the girl was only 16 years of age and was slapped.

Also, it must be noted that most of our volunteers are or have been woman and children. Sadly, the absence of men is quite noticeable. We have been deafened by their silence. It is my hope that as the deadline approaches we will see more men placing their hand to the plow.

For all those in the Auckland area, door knocking at Manurewa tomorrow night. This event will run on Monday nights until the end of February. Locations will change from week to week.
Meeting at Grand Vue Reserve (cnr Great South Rd and Grand Vue Rd, Manurewa) 6pm, door knocking from 6.30 to 8pm.
For more details, contact gaylene@unityforliberty.net.nz or phone 0210767211

Looking forward to seeing you.

Thank you,
Craig

Our Press release concerning the above incident,

Teenager Collecting Signatures Against Bradford Law Assaulted
4 January 2008

Unity for Liberty leader, Craig Hill, is stunned with the behavior of an opponent to the petition against the Sue Bradford anti-smacking law.

Mr Hill's 18 year old daughter was pushed to the ground by a woman who was trying to destroy the petition forms that had been signed at a shopping centre in Pukekohe this afternoon.

An assault complaint has been laid to the Police.

"It seems ironic that people who claim they are against abuse have no problems assaulting a teenage girl," says Mr Hill. "They seem unable to differentiate the difference between a smack and child abuse, and they also have no problem using unreasonable force on other people."

Unity for Liberty has collectors throughout NZ collecting signatures demanding a Referendum against Bradford's anti-smacking bill and demanding that the politicians tackle the real causes of child abuse.

Over 250,000 signatures have been collected already, and Mr Hill's daughter has been collecting signatures every weekend over the past 5 months and during the holiday period.
ENDS


For further details, contact:
Craig Hill 021 746 113
Unity for Liberty
http://www.unityforliberty.net.nz

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke 1728-1797)

FI - 336 - U4L; Door knocking initiative

6 January 2008 - Family Integrity #336 -- U4L; Door knocking initiative

Hi All,

What a great announcement: 251,280 signatures.

As at the Jan 1st, our equation is 1293 folk x 5 Signatures x 8 Saturdays = 51,720, many numbers makes light work.

There is a new door knocking initiative starting in South Auckland, see next email. We encourage other areas to follow same format, thanks.

We still would like to see more hands on the plow, If you can help please contact your closet coordinator here. If there is no one near you contact myself at craig@unityforliberty.net.nz

Last week's total:

Hawkes Bay 691
Porirua 90
Pukekohe 370
Papakura 490
Tauranga 900
Otara Flea Market 250
Christchurch 265

3056 (This total may be short)

All hats off to the team in Tauranga and especially the Hawke's Bay team, they really took advantage of the holiday traffic. Well Done.

-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Hill [mailto:craighill@maxnet.co.nz]
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2008 9:32 PM
To: Craig
Subject: U4L; Door knocking initiative

HELP DO YOUR BIT FOR OUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE. We only need a weekly commitment from 40 people, in order to collect over 1,000 signatures each week. Imagine how many signatures we could collect with even more volunteers....

South Auckland Door Knocking Group
Meeting together one night every week to assist in collecting the remaining 50,000 signatures for the Citizens Initiated Referendum (CIR) on smacking.

When: every Monday night over the Jan/Feb period. Meeting at 6pm, door knocking from 6.30pm - 8pm.
Where: around the South Auckland area. Location to be advised weekly.
This coming Monday, 7th January, we're meeting in Grande Vue Reserve, corner of Grande Vue Road and Great South Road, Manurewa
Bring: pens, petition forms, and a clipboard (if you own one). A limited supply of clipboards will be made available each week.
Email: For more information, or to commit to one or more evenings, please contact Gaylene gaylene@unityforliberty.net.nz or 021 076 7211.

Cheers,
Craig
021 746 113
http://www.unityforliberty.net.nz

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke 1728-1797)

Media - Bradford on the defence again over smacking law

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=130199

Bradford on the defence again over smacking law

5/01/2008 5:56:02

Green MP Sue Bradford believes her anti-smacking legislation will eventually change what she describes as a culture of violence.

Her comments follow the death of a two-month-old who was admitted to hospital with a skull fracture, and bruising to her brain. Police are treating it as a homicide.

Sue Bradford says it is wrong for people to say her law is not working, because no amount of legislation can stop murders.

Media - Anti-smacker smacks pro-smacker

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1533876

Anti-smacker smacks pro-smacker
Jan 4, 2008 4:02 PM

An anti-smacking campaigner has clashed with a woman who supports the legislation south of Auckland on Friday.

The teenager was collecting signatures for a petition against the law outside a Pukehohe mall, when she was assaulted by a woman in favour of it.

Her father Craig Hill says she is a bit shaken up by the incident.

Hill says a local mall security guard managed to wrestle the woman off his daughter.

A complaint has been made to police.

FI - 355 - CIR Update no 19 - response

3 January - Family Integrity #335 - CIR Update no 19 - response

-----Original Message-----
From: Janie
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2008 10:33 AM
To: Craig Smith
Subject: Re: Family Integrity #334 - CIR Update no 19

Hooray for this!!!
Excellent media article by Larry!

I myself have some interesting news. Gisborne is also ripe for the picking. I have been up here doing a locum job at the hospital.

Just wandering round the beaches in my downtime I have casually asked people "Have you had the opportunity to sign this petition?" "No, about what?" they normally answer. Then I say "it is opposing the Sue Bradford anti-smacking bill that was passed earlier in the year." (last year now). 9 out of 10 of them have wanted to sign the petition, just as I've been casually wandering around the beach!!

Today at the airport I heard a middle-aged Mum joking with her grown young woman daughter about not being able to smack her without being arrested, so after the plane had left I casually asked these parents if they wanted to sign; and they did; but the woman added "You really should set up a table in town to get signatures".

Unfortunately as I am in Gisborne to work at the hospital and have very little free time, it is not really feasible for me to set up a table in town. But I would plead with anyone who has contacts here in sunny Gizzy to organise a table. The place is heaving in the summer time and nearly everyone who hasn't already signed it wants to. Do you know anyone??

Cheers,
Janie

Then in a later email from Janie:

But the main thing is, we need someone down here to canvass Gisborne. I may try to wander around a bit more this afternoon, but am on call so not that available; and tomorrow return to Dunedin.

Has anyone hit Dunedin by the way??

Cheers
Janie

So here is a challenge from Janie to grab the spare moments we have to go collect signatures. People are just waiting for you to approach them so that they can sign the petitions. we have less than 3 months left now. So print out a few petitions (http://www.FamilyIntegrity.org.nz) grab a few clip boards (or large thin books and bull dog clips) and a few pens and you are all set for an afternoon of collecting signatures.

Blessings
Craig and Barbara
http://www.FamilyIntegrity.org.nz

Major Milestone passed!

Major Milestone passed!

Larry Baldock
Petition Organiser
Co Leader, Future NZ
Contact Larry Baldock: 021 864 833 or (07) 543 0600

A quarter of a million signatures means that New Zealander’s will finally get to have their say on the smacking debate!!

The Citizens Initiated Referendum petition to ask the question:
“Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in NZ” has now passed the 250,000 mark.

It is now well on its way to the approx 300,000 signatures required by March to force a referendum at next election.

This is a message to Sue Bradford and Helen Clark and all those who thought they could ignore good decent Mum’s and Dad’s in this country who are trying to do their best with the most important job in the world. No Helen, it’s not being Prime Minister, it is raising good kids.

We are going to have a referendum at the next election so that the 84% of New Zealander’s who said they opposed this legislation can vent their frustration at being ignored. Sue Bradford has accused us of lying and scaremongering, claiming that the police report on the first three months since her bill became law shows that nothing has changed.

We refute that. While we can agree that her bill has done nothing to reduce child abuse as we predicted, there has in fact been a change already in police procedure.
The record shows that at least 15 good parents were subjected to the indignity and embarrassment of having the police turn up at their homes with warnings and threats of prosecution if they did not stop breaking the new Bradford law.

The police have never been put in this insidious position before.

They should have been issuing encouragement and congratulations to those parents who love their kids enough to do the hard yards by occasionally using a smack to teach their children respect for authority, and the difference between right and wrong.
We know that those 15 parents are only the first of many who will become the objects of Helen and Sue’s plans to alter our culture and way of life.

When they accuse us of lying and spreading misinformation their fingers should be pointed at themselves. Helen Clark said on a Radio interview prior to the last election that she did not want to ban smacking and then went on to say, “that many don’t want to see stressed and harassed parents called in by the police because they smack a child.”

Well Prime Minister that is exactly what is now happening across this country.
Repeatedly Sue Bradford and supporters said the law had to be changed so that those who hit and beat their children could be prosecuted. Now she openly admits that her bill has failed already. As recently as Dec 21 on National Radio she said “The epidemic of child abuse and child violence in this country continues – sadly. My bill was never intended to solve that problem.”

So what was her bill intended to do? We suspect that the real intention was to undermine the authority of parents in the home.

The referendum is coming which will allow every New Zealander to have their say. If the PM, Sue Bradford and all the MP’s who supported it had any respect for democracy they would have called for the referendum themselves.

FI - 334 - CIR Update no 19

2 January 2008 - Family Integrity #334 - CIR Update no 19

-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Baldock [mailto:CIR.Petition@xtra.co.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 9:52 PM
Subject: CIR Update no 19

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I trust you have all enjoyed the Christmas holidays and New Year’s celebrations.

We start the new year of 2008 with great news!

We now have collected over a quarter of a million signatures and that is fantastic! 251,280

I have attached an article I will release to the media tomorrow afternoon, Jan 2nd along with a press release. Perhaps you may have contact with local media in your area and you could forward it to them. At this time of year many journalists are looking for stories.

It might be an idea if you are able to print some copies of it, (or make photo copies) and hand them out when collecting signatures.

The second attachment is a photo to perhaps give you some ideas about setting up a table in holiday spots. Barbara and I collected 150 the first day in 2 hrs, then 250 in 4hrs and then 650 for a whole day from 8.30am to 4.30pm. Total 1050.

We have found in recent weeks we have been able to average about 1000 per week and perhaps one of the keys to this has been the signs we use. A new sign, as you can see in the photo which say’s A SMACK IS NOT CHILD ABUSE, DON’T CRIMINALISE GOOD PARENTS,’ seems to be working really well in sending a clear message to people about what we are supporting and what we are against.

Once people approach the table all we have to say usually is, would you like to sign, the first petition says, “should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in NZ? We don’t think so, and the second petition is to address the real causes of child abuse like family breakdown, lack of parenting education etc, which would make more of a difference than banning smacking, so would sign that one as well please.

And that is normally all that is required.

You may have developed your own procedure and that is working well for you already, I simply offer this as a suggestion that might help some.

I will send another update in a week or so with the dates of events that are coming up in Jan-Mar that we hope to gather a team to go to but for starters here are some.

Steve is looking for volunteers for the Wairoa A & P show Jan 18-19th and we are very keen to get a team to the Martinborough fare in the Wairarapa Feb 2nd and March 1st.

The Dargaville field days Feb 28-March 1st is also a good gathering I am told. Anyone keen to organise that let me know.

I have arranged a site at the Parachute festival Jan 25th -28th so if you are heading there and would be willing to volunteer some time at the table there let me know.


Happy holidays, the weather is great. I hope you will be able to find a little tome at least to join

The Great Summer Challenge!
Warm regards,
Larry

Media - stuff

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4342058a26430.html

Top 10 political themes for 2007
By IAN LLEWELLYN - NZPA | Tuesday, 01 January 2008

2007 was been a busy year for those interested in the world of politics, full of high, lows and the plain absurd.

During the year the NZPA press gallery wrote more than 5600 items. Here is a list of its top 10 biggest political stories or themes of the year.

Three – It's the economy, stupid:
The biggest three political stories in NZPA's unscientific survey were all so close it might as well have been a three-way dead heat. The resilient state of the economy, unemployment staggeringly low, interest rates causing pain, monetary policy seemingly ineffective and the dollar being too high for many, were never far from the front pages. The political problem for Finance Minister Michael Cullen is that it has been so long since an even mild recession, that most people have forgotten the pain it can cause. The economy and the debate over tax cuts will be a dominant feature of the political landscape in 2008, with Dr Cullen trying to shrug off his scrooge label.

Two – Labour takes a smacking:
The sleeper story of 2006 woke up with a vengeance in 2007 when Green MP Sue Bradford's bill removing the defence of reasonable force when assaulting a child re-emerged on the parliamentary agenda. The debate morphed into a many-headed row over child discipline and abuse, as well as the role of the state in family life. Labour forced its MPs to vote en masse for the bill and the point of principle caused much pain for the party. Many National MPs were horrified when their leader, John Key, did a last minute deal with Miss Clark to back the bill if it was watered down. Many in National felt it would have been better to keep kicking when Labour was down but most of those now link the move to National's rise and Labour's fall.

One – Electoral Law:
After brooding about the 2005 election for a year, Labour and its allies thrust the Electoral Finance Bill on the opposition. Labour's attempt to stamp out big-spending election campaigns came back to bite it as, once again, the debate morphed into a freedom of speech issue. It did not help that the bill was terribly written, confusing, contradictory and plain draconian in places. Labour is hoping that once voters realise it does not affect 99 per cent of people, the fuss will die; how many voters want to spend money persuading others how to vote? However Labour's failure to get wider support and undergo a much-needed overhaul of the dated Electoral Act on a bi-partisan basis may come back to haunt it in 2008.