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In this issue of E News: Repeal S 59 update - Revised position taken by ACYA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REPEAL OF S59 UPDATE - STOP DON'T HIT CHILDREN ACYA has reviewed the implications of the Select Committee and has reconsidered its position. Section 59 Crimes Act 1961 permits parents and carers to hit or smack their children to correct their behaviour provided they use only reasonable force. S 59 gives parents who use corporal punishment a defence if they are prosecuted for assault. In some cases juries have acquitted parents who have beaten their children severely leaving heavy bruising. S 59 also applies to civil proceedings and this has wide ramifications. In child protection proceedings and family court proceedings the Family Court has taken the view that children who have received harsh physical punishment cannot be held to have been abused or treated with violence when it comes to considering whether they are in need of care and protection or whether the Court should make a protection order to protect them from violence or abuse The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child told New Zealand in 1997 and again in 2003 that Section 59 was incompatible with New Zealand's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and that it should be reviewed and repealed. A similar recommendation was made by the UN Committee Against Torture in 2004. The government did not take action in response to these recommendations and the issue was only brought before Parliament when Green party MP Sue Bradford introduced a Private Members Bill to repeal S59. The Bill was referred to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee who reported back to Parliament in November 2006. There have been various views expressed as to the effect of the Select Committee amendments but the advice received by ACYA indicates that: The revised Bill clearly repeals the right of parents and carers to hit or smack their children as a form of punishment; ACYA would have preferred simple repeal or S59 but it recognises that when the Bill comes back to Parliament in early 2007 there will be attempts to sabotage the main thrust of the Bill which is to remove the parental power to smack and hit children as a punishment. It is important that those who believe physical punishment should be banned should support the amended Bill as disagreement in the detail may make even harder the task of getting sufficient Parliamentary support for the Bill. Conclusion: ACYA wants the bill to pass the Second Reading in Parliament, and accepts, if somewhat reluctantly, the Select committee recommendations SUBMISSIONS & SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AWAITED Wills Bill Children's Commissioner held a forum in Parnell in Auckland on 15 December 2006. Dr Cindy Kiro spoke to this project where every child is safe, nurtured, educated, healthy and has hope for the future, based around an integrated framework. The age span of children is divided into 4 periods against which physical, emotional, cognitive and social aspects are to be assessed. It certainly is a long term project, which brings together current work and new ideas. http://www.occ.org.nz/childcomm/media_and_speeches/media_releases At the same session Fiona Saunders-Francis from MSD outlined Kia Puawai, an early years framework, which takes the current Government based system and looks at 0-6 years age span. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION The Commission has particular concerns relating to children. In the Statement of Intent the fourth item is - Getting it right for children and Young People. Key Impacts: Remove school and centre barriers to educational attainment EVIDENCE ACT 2006 This act was passed on 4 December 2006. It will need study to see the outcome for children giving evidence.
Submissions and Select Committee reports awaited:
Wills Bill
Response to draft Convention on Torture Report
Corrections (Mothers & Babies) Amendment Bill
Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Bill
Minimum Wage & Remuneration Bill
Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill
Weaving Pathways to Well Being - Children's Commissioner
Human Rights Commission - Statement of Intent
Evidence Act 2006
The revised Bill goes further than the original Bill in that it amends the Education Act to prevent parents of children in private schools from going to the school and strapping or paddling their children for school misbehaviours;
The revised Bill does permit parents and carers to use reasonable force for specific purposes other than for punishment of their children, namely:
to protect their child from harm or to prevent their child from harming someone else
to prevent their child from committing a criminal offence, or from engaging in offensive or disruptive behaviour;
performing the normal daily tasks incidental to parenting (e.g. changing nappies, bathing children or putting them to bed).
The reason why the Select Committee proposed these amendments was to counter the large amount ! of misinformation that had been circulating about the Bill as introduced and suggestions that parents would be prosecuted for protecting their children from harm or for carrying out normal parental responsibilities. The advice received by ACYA is that the amendments do little more that put into statutory form the powers and responsibilities of parents recognised in the Care of Children Act and in common law.
The current text has a minimum age of 18. We have suggested lowering this age and wait to see the Select Committee report due on 9 April 2007.
Response to draft Convention on torture report
The Government is due to report to the UN Committee in January 2007. We reviewed the draft report. Our submission is on http://www.acya.org.nz/?t=28. We will comment on the final text and await the opportunity to report to the UN committee which is likely to be months away.
Corrections (Mothers & Babies) Amendment Bill
Select Committee due to report on 21 July 2007
Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Bill
Select Committee due to report on 31 May 2007
Minimum Wage & Remuneration Bill
Select Committee due to report on 22 May 2007
Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill
Select Committee report due on 29 March 2007
WEAVING PATHWAYS TO WELLBEING
Value diversity
Reduce bullying, harassment and discrimination
Ensure children and young people know about their rights and their responsibilities and have opportunity to exercise them
http://www.hrc.co.nz/home/default.php