Clark's support for Bill welcome
Prime Minister Helen Clark's public support for the repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act has been welcomed by Green MP
Sue Bradford.
Ms Bradford has been campaigning for the repeal of the legislation for many years and last week her private member's
bill, which could see this dream become a reality, was pulled from the Parliamentary ballot.
Miss Clark's support today for the repeal of Section 59 follows that of Plunket, which on the weekend also publicly
announced its support for Ms Bradford's bill.
"I am pleased that Miss Clark sees the need to repeal this bad law which allows parents the defence of reasonable force
if they are charged with assaulting their children," Ms Bradford says.
"In calling for the repeal of section 59 I am not proposing a new law to criminalize smacking ,nor do I see the day when
police will charge into people's homes to arrest a parent for lightly smacking a child for sticking a fork into a power
point.
"What I am seeking to do is remove a legal defence for those parents who beat their children with instruments such as
sticks, canes and pieces of wood."
The Green Party believes that it is vital to provide support for parenting programmes and increased resourcing for
church and community groups who work alongside parents helping them to learn alternative methods for disciplining their
children, she says.