23 June 2009

Media Statement
The Yes Vote Coalition

This is good parental correction? What happened to adult self-control?

Promoters of the referendum on child discipline must be truly desperate if they are willing to make a father who repeatedly pushes over his seven year-old their new poster-boy for "a smack as a part of good parental correction", says The Yes Vote*.

"The no vote campaign would have used the so-called 'ear-flick' Dad as their example of supposed injustice against parents until he was convicted of punching his child in the face. Now they are pointing to an angry father, who pleaded guilty to assault, as a 'great Dad',” said Yes Vote spokesperson Deborah Morris-Travers.

"We all get tired and frustrated as parents, but actions such as those described are anything but 'good parental correction'. They are a loss of adult self-control, pure and simple. The majority of New Zealanders would be appalled to see a child treated in that way.

"If ever there was an example of why the new child discipline law is a step in the right direction to creating a society in which violence towards children is no longer tolerated, this has to be it.

"A Yes Vote in the referendum is a vote to support parents in their effort to parent without violence and to ensure children and adults are protected equally,” concluded Ms Morris-Travers.

• The YES Vote coalition is a wide group of organisations supporting parents and the child discipline law. We are working to ensure the retention of the law. The coalition includes Barnardos, Plunket, UNICEF, Save the Children, Te Kahui Mana Ririki, Women’s Refuge, Childspace, Parent Centres and others. YesVote.org.nz

ENDS

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