The auction for the Timaru Lady cane

Oh, give me a break. There is nothing at all wrong with the Timaru Lady listing the cane on Trademe for sale. It's a piece of New Zealand history, and maybe someone wants it more than her. And likewise, there's nothing wrong with anyone bidding on the cane. Bradford was quoted as saying:"It's a real tragedy that something that's been used to beat a child is being glorified and sold for profit". The cane is hardly being glorified. And this website is not a "pro-smacking site".

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This article from www.stuff.co.nz
The Dominion Post | Thursday, 26 July 2007

Green MP Sue Bradford says she is appalled that a cane linked to a notorious child discipline case has cropped up for sale in an internet auction.

The MP who forced a rewrite of laws governing smacking described the Trade Me sale as "ugly", particularly because someone was seeking to gain from a child's pain.

The implement, once wielded by a Timaru mother, is being marketed as "the cane that changed the law".

The woman, who has name suppression and is believed to be the seller, was acquitted in 2005 of assaulting her 13-year-old son with a riding crop and a bamboo cane.

What became known as "the Timaru horsewhip case" proved a rallying point for those on either side of Ms Bradford's controversial anti-smacking law.

"It's a real tragedy that something that's been used to beat a child is being glorified and sold for profit," she said yesterday.

"It's a real indictment on the person selling it. Even though a court let them off, it was that type of case that lay behind a lot of my motivation for the bill."

By 6pm yesterday, the auction had attracted only three bids.

The top bid of $5 was lodged by Andrew Moore, a self-described "Christiana/student/entrepreneur" from Christchurch and a contributor to pro-smacking site.

The tongue-in-cheek blurb for the auction said the cane would suit a range of purposes.

"It could become a cop and go on a stake out!! ... It could become an Silver Fern so they can continue to cane the Aussies ... It could join the American Army ... I hear they're looking for weapons of m'ass destruction!"

The cane was listed under the user name "come-a-cropper", from Timaru.

Family First director Bob McCoskrie said he understood it was being sold by the mother.

"I'm not sure if she's making a political point or fundraising for legal costs."

The woman and her husband are facing another trial for alleged assault of another son.

In April, the woman displayed the cane and her riding crop in a video posted on YouTube.com.