Smacking Debate Part 1

The referendum begins: should you vote 'yes' or 'no'?
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 6:55p.m.
It's the $9 million question, and throughout New Zealand you'll start receiving it in the mail from tomorrow onwards.
At about $2.50 a head, nearer $4 if you exclude people too young to vote, you should savour the tick you get to make.
The question you're being asked, is: "Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?"
Joining Campbell Live tonight is Bob McCoskrie director of lobby group Family First, and a man campaigning for you to vote 'no'; Anton Blank - from the Maori child advocacy group Te Kahui Mana Ririki, set up in 2007 after a Maori child abuse summit - and a man who wants you to vote 'yes'; Sheryll Savill - who helped collect the signatures for the petition, and is in fact, the instigator of the referendum itself who clearly wants a 'no' vote; and the chief executive of Barnados New Zealand Murray Edridge - who very much wants you to vote 'yes'.

What do you think?

You can have your say on 3news.co.nz's new Your Opinions section by clicking here.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• smacking
• child
• abuse
• (CYF)
• New
• Zealand
• referendum
• Sue
• Bardford

[iwcbonkz]

@schneke1 BRAVO , I agree , it's a no brainer When the laws changed regrding men hitting there wives people found it so hard to get there heads around the concept . Were afraid women would beome unruly, out of control

[Wolfgurl971]

Would it be okay to smack an adults bottom? Don't think so. Same for children. Sorry freaksXD

[jasonmanley]

Really? What does it say?Tell me do educated peple disagree? If an "educated" person agreed with Bob would that invalidate your argument? Has an educated person ever commited child abuse?I am afraid that your response has so many holes that it betrays your ignorance on this matter.If you would like to argue the context of the issue then that's fine but don't bring someone's education in as a defining standard for their Yes/no opinion.Black slaves were uneducated - they thought slavery was wrong!