Monday, 14 May 2007

14 May 2007 - United Future NZ Party - Turner to oppose Bradford Bill

14 May 2007 - United Future NZ Party - Turner to oppose Bradford Bill
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0705/S00321.htm Bill


Monday, 14 May 2007, 10:16 am
Press Release: United Future NZ Party
Monday, 14 May 2007
Turner to oppose Bradford Bill

United Future MP Judy Turner today announced she will be voting against the third and final reading of Green MP Sue Bradford's anti-smacking Bill when it next comes up for debate in Parliament.

"I do believe that the amendment passed last week to clarify the police discretion to not prosecute when it is not in the public interest to do so, was a definite improvement," says Mrs Turner.

"However, this provision does not apply to Child Youth and Family Services who, like the police, have statutory powers and can remove your children, limit your access, and eventually in the interests of permanency, place them with a new family.

"Some would say that it is pure hysteria to suggest that parents will lose their children into care if they lightly smack their children.

"Well I hope they are right. CYFS certainly don't have to meet the same burden of proof as the police do to make an arrest, so discretion is even harder to determine.

"Currently this agency has no robust complaints service and because this is lacking there is little feedback across the department about the need to change social work procedures.

"They do acknowledge that most complaints are about social work provision, but there is no break-down of this to identify if there are any common themes in these complaints.

"Parents I have dealt with fear making a complaint in case they further jeopardise their case. They feel powerless and understandably emotional, often lacking the skills needed to make calm representation to staff at the local branch office.

"To date, not enough has changed in this department to reassure me that good parents are safe, and for this reasonĂ¢€¦ I am not supporting the third reading of this Bill.

ENDS

1 comment:

dad4justice said...

As a father of twin boys and two young girls I am ashamed that we were all born in New Zealand. The smacking law is a legal fiasco .As a common sense advocate helping distraught families battle police, courts and cyfs I can assure this grey area law was implemented on purpose by the evil socialists to give more power to a nanny state. If this government cared about the family, why then, didn’t they endorse the family at the last two UN Doha Declarations? We are out of step with the rest of the world and our government’s stinking thinking is bizarre. These political creeps want nothing better than to destroy the specific uncontrollable loyalties that exist in a healthy structured family. The socialist wolves wearing blue and red dinner jackets look set to devour the vulnerable lambs, because it suits their insidious ism agenda. They want to obliterate parent power from all aspects of society and they adore fatherlessness. They get real happy when you mention the words lack of male role models because of unlawful male gender discrimination (often malicious hatred) from state agencies that claim to act in the child’s best interests (ask Ron Burrows how dangerous Cyfs are). We must stop this fractured family processing unit from a callous monster we call government! Our children and grand children deserve better than this .