I'll be straight about with my prejudices: I don't like Family First.
I don't like the hysterical tone of their press releases, I don't like their consistent painting of children as non-rational chaotic devils, I don't like that their list of instances where s59 has gone out of control turns out to be a series of incidents where concerned neighbours, CYFS workers and police officers took sensible and considered actions to protect young people. I do respect their right to raise their concerns in a civil referendum, and encourage everyone to vote in it. Preferably voting Yes, so FF will have to stop whining about the loss of property rights over their children, but just voting at all is an important thing: it's a public statement about the way you want the next generation to be treated, which makes it a public statement about what you want the future to be.
The Yes Vote campaign has a bunch of reasons on why you should agree with me, but I also note a handy flow chart for people who are as yet undecided.
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Ah, yes. The campaign for a general right to stike one's children - as compared to the four listed in section 59 of the Crimes Act.
Interestingly, I could not find any definition ofchild or parent in the Act. Mind you it wasn't an exhaustive search.
Now to thrash some children in my care because this is "performing the normal daily tasks that are incidental to good care and parenting".
I have a problem with how the referendum question is raised: it talks about violence to children as part of 'good parenting' but there are a lot of people who would disagree that violence to children can be good parenting at all. So how to answer the question? It's based on a doubtful premise
Well, yes, yet another thing to dislike about Family First is their championing of an ambiguous yet leading question, and outright insistence to all comers that it's nothing of the sort. I figure: they want you to vote No; Barnados, Save the Children and Women's Refuge want you to vote Yes; so it's relatively easy to pick sides.
I've had small children visiting this afternoon: pikelets, gingernuts, a cat hiding under the couch, fooling around with a swiss ball, and attempted appropriation of an interesting looking piece of foam in the bedroom. It was nice seeing them.
Flowchart => Lol!
Many thanks for putting me on to that. I have always wanted an excuse to turn the other cheek, sacrifice an ox, and invade the Middle East, and now I have it! First, the Middle East, then...... Invercargill! Mwahahahahha!
Joseph.
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