Turner: Bradford Bill will see children snatched by CYFS

New Zealand families will lose their children to CYFS zealots if Sue Bradford’s anti-smacking Bill passes into law, United Future deputy leader Judy Turner said today.

“And that is the primary problem with simply repealing Section 59 of the Crimes Act” Mrs Turner said.

“Children are already being removed from families in New Zealand on very dubious grounds, and overseas experience shows that such law changes generally don’t get the police knocking on your door, but they do get the social services coming into family homes and removing the children of often good and loving parents,” Mrs Turner said.

“There wouldn’t be a week go by that I am not contacted by parents who have had their children removed by CYFS and a lot of these cases do not involve bad parents.

“New Zealanders have every right to fear the consequences of the removal of Section 59 and that is why United Future will not be supporting the Bill.”

She said Ms Bradford was actually demonstrating the approach that CYFS social workers would take if the Bill became law.

“United Future approached her with suggested changes that would not criminalise good parents and she rejected them out of hand. She is running an extremist agenda that would see children dragged out of loving homes,” Mrs Turner said.

“It is also ludicrous to say that the Bill will make smacking children a criminal offence and yet parents supposedly will not be criminalised. Since when has law been made on the basis that it won’t be enforced?”

“Ms Bradford’s Bill is based on a complete inability or unwillingness to differentiate between mild discipline and beatings.

“The problem of child abuse needs to be addressed. Bad law criminalising good parents won’t do that,” Mrs Turner said.

ENDS

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