Whether it’s ever okay to smack a child became the $9 million question earlier this year.
The non-binding referendum was in response to Green MP Sue Bradford’s so-called 'anti-smacking bill' being passed by Parliament in 2007. In short, it removed the defence of reasonable force to correct a child.
To trigger a referendum, a petition was needed with signatures from 10 percent of registered voters – 285,000 people. A first attempt in February fell short, with a checking process ruling there were only 269,500 valid names. For organiser Larry Baldock it was back to pounding the streets to collect signatures, and after another two months, he had enough to pass. Of the 390,000 signatures collected, 310,000 proved valid in an audit.
Debate raged over the wording of the non-binding referendum – 'Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?' - and whether it was worth the almost $9 million cost to the taxpayer.
In the end, more than 1.4 million people – or 87.4 percent of votes – said “No”. Almost 12 percent of people voted "Yes".
Either way, the referendum was non-binding so the law remained as it is. An independent review in December found the law is working well, and opponents' fears have proved unfounded.
A timeline of the main events surrounding the issue and links to our stories is below.
16 May 2007 - The bill is passed by Parliament, with only seven MPs voting against it. The bill removes from the Crimes Act the statutory defence of "reasonable force" to correct a child, meaning there will be no justification for the use of force for that purpose.
22 August 2008 – It is decided a referendum will be held on the law after parliamentary officials confirm a petition calling for the ballot has enough valid signatures.
15 June 2009 - Confirmation taxpayers will have to fork out $9 million to have a say on the controversial law.
16 June 2009 - Prime Minister John Key and Opposition leader Phil Goff both agree the smacking referendum has a poorly worded question and is a waster of taxpayer money.
17 June 2009 - Ms Bradford proposes a private member’s bill to get Parliament to change the law on citizens initiated referendums so the public do not face confusing and badly-worded questions.
31 July 2009 – The referendum begins.
23 August 2009 – The government says it won’t change the anti-smacking law. But it wants the police and Child, Youth and Family to report every smacking complaint to the Government so it can monitor how the law is working.
25 August 2009 – Results show 87.4 percent of people voted “No” and 11.98 percent of people voted "Yes". Voter turnout is 54 percent.
26 August 2009 - A private member's bill which seeks to revisit the anti-smacking legislation in parliament has fallen at the first hurdle.
21 November 2009 - Between 4000 and 5000 people march through central Auckland urging the Government to act on referenda.
7 December 2009 - An independent review of the anti-smacking law finds the law is working well, and opponents' fears are unfounded.
source: newshub archive
