Youth let down by referendum

Students Against Violence Everywhere feel they have been let down by the over 87% of New Zealand voters who voted no in the child discipline referendum. Youth have been let down by the result which is a reflection on New Zealand’s stale attitudes towards physical punishment and ignorance towards children’s and young peoples rights.

SAVE believes the referendum was a pointless waste of $9 million due to the ambiguous wording of the question and miss leading claims of good parents being criminalized.

Chairperson and Spokesperson for the Yes Vote 4 Youth Campaign Johny O'Donnell said "Young NZers have been let down by adults who should have taken this as an opportunity to protect our rights to be free from violence rather than falling victim to the pathetic fear tactics of the no vote campaign" he said " it demonstrates that we have a long way to go in changing the attitudes of parents in New Zealand, $9 million could have been invested in a positive parenting campaign which would have had a more positive outcome than this ridiculous referendum".

Vice Chairperson Scott Miller said "It’s sad that people have voted the way they have but now our focus is on showing families that there are better ways to discipline children than just smacking” he also said “SAVE stands strong that the next generation will be better educated and will not allow children to get smacked”.

87% of people voted no in the referendum on the question "Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?" John Key has indicated he would not change the law and appears to be standing by his stance, SAVE respects John Key for this.

Mr. O'Donnell said SAVE was not finished yet and would continue to push for more investment in positive parenting rather than ineffective parenting that models violent behaviours to the child.

Nelson College Group Coordinator Amani Waenga believed that the referendum was a waste of time and was disappointed that despite their efforts there had been a clear majority of no vote, he didn’t think smacking children was appropriate considering you cannot hit another adult. He said “it makes you feel a lot less valuable in society, you are the group of people who people can hit and get away with it- it’s wrong and demoralizing”.

SAVE Member and Maori Youth Advocate Manaaki Walker said "violence is a ripple effect it may start out as a drop in the water but soon creates a ripple effect which disturbs all the waters, this is no different than smacking a child it may start out as a light smack but can soon trigger other violent behaviours from both the parent and the child" he added "we need to keep our waters calm and let children have peace in there own homes".

SAVE stands by the child discipline law of 2007 and wants to pay tribute to the people behind the law change who are committed to protecting young peoples rights to be protected under the law, SAVE is urging the Government to listen to youth and not change the law

ENDS

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