MP's Should Get Real on Child Abuse

Press Release: Family First, Thursday, 15 May 2008, 9:08 am

300,000 more signatures were submitted today on a 2nd petition demanding that the government tackle the real causes of child abuse including family breakdown and domestic violence.

"This is in addition to the 350,000 signatures already collected on the 1st petition calling for the scrapping of the anti-smacking law," says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. "And this total continues to grow."

Organisations who originally supported the petitions, including Family First NZ, For the Sake of our Children Trust, Focus on the Family, Sensible Sentencing Trust, and Unity for Liberty amongst others, have been inundated with further requests for petition forms since the announcement that the first petition opposing the anti-smacking law had fallen short because of invalid votes.

"This is a huge response which has been reflective of the 80+% opposition to the Bradford / Clark anti-smacking law supported by far too many politicians who should have listened to the concerns of NZ parents. They simply abused the child abuse laws, and abused their law making powers. But the people have spoken."

"The inability to deal with the real causes of child abuse while criminalising good parents will be an election issue and Family First is calling on political parties to make quite clear whether they will change the law so that good parents are not criminalised for appropriate and reasonable correction of children."

"The ability for organizers to get over 650,000 signatures on the two petitions shows just how strong the feeling (and frustration) is amongst many NZ families on this issue," says Mr McCoskrie.

A Note from Larry

Today is of course the 1st year anniversary of the passing of the anti-smacking law.

We have collected over 350,000 signatures on Sheryl Savills petition and have handed in approx. 296,000 signatures on my petition to understand and address the wider causes of family breakdown, family violence and child abuse.

I suggest we all have a drink of whatever we enjoy, or eat some chocolate, or do something to celebrate that we have come this far in our battle against this legislation and our fight for those being abused.

I am confident that our full celebration is not far away.

You can watch the youtube video clip of the press conference by clicking here.

You can read the text of the press conference here also. (click here)

There are some plans being formulated to collect the remaining signatures we need.

Can we all do our best to finish this as soon as possible?

'Many hands make light work' as they say. If you have an activity you are planning to collect signatures at and need volunteers please let me know and I will put out a schedule of the opportunities for the next few weeks.

Not long to go now and we can all enjoy a little break perhaps.

Warm regards, Larry

Child Abuse Petition Submitted

Press Release: The Kiwi Party - May 14 2008. I will add a few comments in bold.

Time for a new approach on addressing family breakdown, family violence and child abuse

“Today marks the end of 14 months of collecting signatures for a CIR petition in my name to request a referendum on the question, ‘should the Government give urgent priority to understanding and addressing the wider causes of family breakdown, family violence and child abuse in New Zealand?’ The collection of signatures for Sheryl Savill’s petition, which is a separate question entirely, is ongoing and we have now collected approx 350,000 for that petition. I will resubmit those when we are sure we have sufficient to cross the hurdle of the audit process. Our goal is 380,000, see www.unityforliberty.net.nz for a regularly updated signature count.

Today I will deliver approx 300,000 signatures to the Clerk of the House of Representatives for my petition and we will now await (once again) a seemingly bizarre audit process to be carried out according to the CIR Act 1993.

Whatever the outcome of this process, 300,000 signatures represent a huge response from the people of New Zealand who have consistently expressed their concern at our deplorable child abuse and family violence statistics. Absolutely. 300,000 Kiwis have put pen to paper, saying that they are sick and tired of the child-abuse and family-breakdown which continues, unabated - despite the untold millions of tax-payers money that the Government continues to throw at the problem - in the form of Cindy Kiro (Children's Commissioner), and the Families Commission - as well as countless other beurocracies busy accomplishing nothing good.

After nearly nine years of a Government lead by Helen Clark and supported entirely or in part by Jim Anderton, Jeannette Fitzsimons, Peter Dunne and Winston Peters, there is not a single statistic that can be referred to that shows their ‘lame duck policies’ have worked. This is despite huge tax surpluses and a strong economy.

A clear example of this is that we now have the Minister of Social Development openly acknowledging her own department’s report that reveals the poor are worse off under a Labour Government than after the ‘mother of all budgets’ in the 90’s.

This petition and these signatures are calling for greater action on understanding and then addressing the wider causes of family breakdown, family violence and child abuse.

We begin our question with the call to “understand’, as that is the first step to solving any problem. Clearly this Government does not have any understanding of the real causes of our problems and has simply continued to keep bringing so many ‘ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’ type responses that there is no parking space left. What we really need are some solid fences constructed at the top.

Our social statistics reveal such systemic problems within our society that the Kiwi Party believes the Government should urgently appoint an independent Royal Commission to respond to this. Surely it is time to look for new answers and solutions?

Anti-smacking advocate and nanny state zealot Sue Bradford, now admits (contrary to her earlier claims) that her Anti Smacking Bill was never intended to address the causes of child abuse and reduce our awful statistics for child maltreatment deaths.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense now acknowledges that with 7 child deaths in less than a year, Bradford's Bill is a feel-good fantasy dressed up as a complete waste of time, unless of course Bradford's real plan was to deconstruct the traditional family unit." Wow, I completely agree Larry. A dangerous but brave question to ask.

Families Commission Launches Hypocritical Campaign

"Parenting. The best day's work you'll ever do" reads the large (tax-payer funded) advert at the Bus-stop. And who else would it be, but the Families Commission to give this message to New Zealanders as they drive around the city.

Ironic doesn't even begin to describe the hypocrisy of it. First they back the bill calling for the disempowerment of the majority of Kiwi mums and dads - and then they turn around and say "hey, parenting's the best!".

I have spoken to several thousand Kiwi mums and dads who do use an occasional smack now and then, to correct their children. They do this lovingly - the child understands why he is being smacked, and reconciliation is made. What tool do parents have now, to back up the requests and instructions they give their children?

Do not for one moment believe that the Families Commission is in place to support families - they are a State-run operation that has a huge anti-family agenda. That is, Family as we know it.

I do not doubt the genuine sincerity many of those involved with the commission do have for their job. The majority of these people really do care about child abuse and more functional families in New Zealand - however, they are going about it the wrong way, and are inadvertently working for the destruction of the family.

Self-important beaurocrats sit around tables - some of whom who have never had children, and they theorise about the way families should operate. Look at the list of parenting essentials and you will quickly see that there is no mention of punishment or the fact that children are naughty. Instead, following the humanist manifesto that children are basically good, and that there is no place for negativity in parenting.

Repeal Section 59 - the Facebook Group

Just a quick note. A Facebook Group has been started, calling for the repeal of Section 59.

"Kiwis don't want Sue Bradford's Anti-Smacking Law. Join this group to show your support for a repeal of this new anti-parental-authority law."

Click here to join.