Gerry Brownlee MP
National Party Shadow Leader of the House

22 March 2007

Is Labour going to railroad the smacking ban?

National Party Shadow Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee says cryptic answers offered in Parliament today lend weight to the suggestion that Labour is planning to "railroad the smacking ban under urgency".

"Michael Cullen should come clean. Either Labour plans to take urgency and ride roughshod over our democracy next week or it doesn't.

"Helen Clark knows very well that the smacking ban is unpopular with the majority of New Zealanders, and that the public are frustrated that she has not allowed her MPs the opportunity to vote with their consciences.

"The Prime Minister also knows that she has been caught out saying one thing about the smacking ban before the election, and giving a completely different story after the election.

"To limit the damage, it is clear that Labour wants to steamroll this legislation through the House as quickly as possible while Helen Clark is out of the country."

What this means is that by Thursday next week Section 59 could be gone. "It is arrogant, it is cynical and Helen Clark should expect to be held to account by New Zealanders for abusing the process to serve her own ends."

ENDS

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