A Rubbish Review Of A Rubbish Law
John Boscawen MP, ACT New Zealand
Wednesday, Novenmber 11 2009

The report to the Minister of Social Development on the review of the Anti-Smacking law is completely worthless and not worth the paper it’s written on, ACT New Zealand MP John Boscawen said today.

“In it, Social Development Ministry CEO Peter Hughes basically admits that he cannot conclude one way or the other whether parents are being subjected to unnecessary state intervention for lightly smacking their children,” Mr Boscawen said.

“Mr Hughes cites a lack of sufficient data with which to draw a definitive conclusion. He cannot even conclude whether the Act is resulting in a safer and more secure environment for children – the very purpose of the review.

“The fact is that no one will ever be charged under Section 59 as it is not counted as an offence type. People who smack their child are charged under the Crimes Act – making it near impossible to extrapolate accurate Section 59 figures.

“We have a law that must be reviewed, but no cogent data to review it – meaning today’s report contains no conclusions and isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. If there were ever any intention of it being effective, proper mechanisms would have been put in place to record accurate information and allow for proper assessment of its effectiveness.

“The review of the Anti-Smacking law was set up to be a whitewash in order to give the perception of action – making the public think that the law could be changed when, in fact, it never would. Meanwhile, parents are still left not knowing where they stand under a law that does not achieve its purpose,” Mr Boscawen said.

ENDS

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