Key to meet Bradford on s59 issues next week

Green Party MP Sue Bradford confirmed today that National Party leader John Key had agreed to meet with her sometime next week to discuss her s59 repeal Bill.

"I will be supplying Mr Key with information I feel is important he read beforehand, and I have invited him to supply me with a brief outline of the new approach he wishes me to consider," Ms Bradford says.

"I have also asked Mr Key to confirm a date when he can meet with representatives from the experts in the field - such as Unicef, Save the Children, Plunket, and Barnardos - to discuss the issues raised in his speech, and have also asked him to confirm an invitation for me to visit his caucus on May 1st, the only National party caucus day before the Bill is brought back into the House."

"It is always useful to search for grounds for compromise. Mr Key has however, already stated in his speech on Tuesday that the Borrows amendment - which sought to define the forms and degree of acceptable violence towards children - is likely to be defeated in Parliament. It should therefore be clear to Mr Key that an approach based on the Borrows amendment is now effectively dead in the water, and it cannot hope to be revived by him via his discussions with me.

"I look forward to meeting with Mr Key - and later, with his caucus - and I hope the brief outline he can forward me before our meeting will signal a fresh approach to the situation. I'm sure we are both motivated by the same impulse, to do what's best for the wellbeing of children in this country," Ms Bradford says.

ENDS

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