This Issue Will Not Go Away, Mr Key The Kiwi Party

Press Release An independent poll of 1,000 respondents taken this month shows that the percentage of people who think the anti-smacking law should be changed to state explicitly that parents who give their children a smack that is reasonable for the purpose of correction are not breaking the law has risen from 77% last year to 82% this year. And the percentage is consistent for males and females polled with 83% among males and 81% among females. “Surely, My Key, it is time to admit this law is not what New Zealand parents want”, says the deputy leader of the Kiwi Party Simonne Dyer.

21% of parents polled stated that this law made them less confident as a parent when dealing with unacceptable behaviour from their children and 32% have had their children tell them they would tell authorities like a teacher, social worker or the police if their parents smacked them. “Parents have a tough enough time bringing up their families in the present economic climate without having these pressures put on them by the government and their children”, continued Dyer.

“Teachers are currently concerned about the level of bullying in their schools and are reporting a significant rise in the number of disruptive pupils in their classes. It is not hard to find a correlation between children who resist classroom and school norms of behaviour and the loss of confidence in parents in their child rearing abilities brought about by this law. It’s time to relieve parents of the additional pressures brought about by this failed law and establish an Independent Commission of Inquiry into the wider causes of child abuse and family violence in New Zealand”, concluded Dyer.

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