Family First right on Anti-Smacking legislation outcomes

Colin Craig & Family First right, Sue Bradford & John Key wrong, on Anti-Smacking legislation outcomes, says Family Counsellor & Social Services Outcomes Researcher

With the recent return to the debate regarding the issue of the anti-smacking bill, a Family Counsellor and Social Services Outcomes Researcher has confirmed that the 2007 legislation has made no difference whatsoever towards enhancing the safety of children.

Steve Taylor, Director of 24-7 Ltd, a Family Counselling agency established for 12 years, who has worked with thousands of parents and children, and who is also a Social Services Outcomes Researcher, says that Colin Craig of the Conservative Party, and Bob McCoskrie of Family First are “spot on” in their assessment of the anti-smacking bill.

“Despite the claims of the Bills most ardent supporters – the facts speak for themselves. There has been no decline in child abuse statistics, and since the Bill was passed in 2007, parents have simply become smarter at smacking – they take the act away from the public arena, and then do it anyway”.

“In my Practice, I have observed that legislation (and the architects of same) such as the anti-smacking bill is viewed by most parents and caregivers with contempt and distain.

The legislation was a hopeless ideological attempt to protect children, and instead all it did was criminalise every parent in the country.

Sue Bradford knew this at the time.

Sue Bradford also knows that at no time did she receive any death threats as a result of her pioneering this Bill, and the Police confirmed as much at the time – a manufactured falsehood laid upon a utopian ideology laid upon what was ultimately a lie has thus made for very poor legislation” said Mr Taylor.

“Given that the Act is being ignored by parents and caregivers; given the absence of successful evidence for its implementation; given the artificial and false welding of a light smack with actual child abuse; and given that the Act has made not one iota of difference to child abuse statistics; as a professional who works at the grass roots of family intervention, I am of the opinion that the Act needs to be repealed, and the true causes of child abuse be more meaningfully addressed, namely cultural norms, lack of parental training, alcohol and drug use, economic pressures, and the often absent biological father, being replaced by a non-biological male perpetrator” says Mr Taylor

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