Media release
2 May 2007

Public education must follow amendment

The Families Commission says Parliament’s overwhelming support for amendment of Section 59 of the Crimes Act encourages a fundamental shift in parenting practices and is a milestone on the path to zero tolerance to family violence.

Under the proposed law change, parents charged with assaulting their children would no longer be able to claim they were using ‘reasonable force’ for disciplinary purposes.

“The Families Commission congratulates Parliament on showing true leadership by finding a multi-party solution to an issue that has aroused heated national debate,” said the Chief Commissioner Rajen Prasad.

The amendment will make it clear that parents cannot use force to correct a child’s behaviour. However it will also make it clear that police should not prosecute trivial offences and the Commission hopes that this eases parents’ concerns.

“It is vital that families are provided with useful and helpful information as soon as possible. We will work with other agencies and organisations to make sure that parents have easy access to information that will help them use parenting strategies that do not use physical discipline,” says the Chief Commissioner Rajen Prasad.

Programmes such as SKIP (Strategies with Kids Information for Parents) have information available online and can be a good starting point. Organisations such as Parents Centre, Barnados and Plunket also offer support and parenting education programmes throughout the country, he said.

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