1 September 2001

Hon Roger McClay
Commissioner for Children

"Children are so often the bearers of the brunt of violence in their Society," Commissioner for Children, Roger McClay told the Family Violence Conference in Wairoa today.

He told the Conference that "some children lived and died knowing nothing but violence, hate and harshness. What happens in children’s own homes and neighbourhoods shapes attitudes and beliefs about violence".

Mr McClay said that "what’s been happening to our children is at variance to what we promised by way of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child".

"We signed up to the concept that all actions concerning children should take full account of their best interests. We said we would protect our children from all forms of maltreatment by parents and others responsible for them," he said.

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