Category: Crime & Justice
With the announcement last Monday by the Chief Electoral Officer that that they were beginning the process to hold a Citizens Initiated Referendum, the debate surrounding the controversial Anti-smacking law once again fired up. This time though, with a new twist, as the supporters of the law change directed their attack at the wording of the referendum, and the cost of the process.
Whether we are talking about freedom or oppression, democracy or dictatorship, free enterprise or communism, ideas have the power to shape nations and profoundly impact on the daily lives of citizens. As the famous nineteenth century French writer Victor Hugo stated, “There is one thing stronger than all of the armies of the world and that’s an idea whose time has come”.
Crimestoppers has been an extraordinary success in the UK ; I set it up over 20 years ago, have been involved with it ever since and am extremely proud of being the Chairman of the Trustees of a charity that is making a serious impact in the fight against crime in the UK . But my discussions with the police, government and business leaders in New Zealand, looking at the idea of setting up a similar venture here, came about through an unexpected and unplanned direction.
As the government progresses it’s so-called “razor gang” line-by-line review of government expenditure, it will be interesting to see whether those controversial and costly policy areas, that are clearly long overdue for reform, go under the microscope.
On 16 February Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier gave a speech to a hui in which he questioned the value of stopping violence programmes (Boshier, 2009) . He recognises that there are problems with the current “one-size-fits-all” approach of current anti-violence programmes. Some might see this as a significant development. Others will be sceptical.
Whenever we try to assess the meaning and significance of particularly horrible cases, such as that of Nia Glassie in New Zealand or Baby P in Britain (between which there are several parallels), it is important to bear in mind that there is nothing new under the sun, that some people have always done terrible things to others, that some humans have always behaved with the utmost cruelty, that there has never been a golden age of universal benevolence and good will to all men, and that no social system will entirely eliminate the human capacity for evil.
In this politically correct world that we now live, it is important to hear again the words of Voltaire which echo the essence of free speech – “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. Increasingly our right to free expression is being eroded by the apparent rights of others who disagree with what we say.
I cannot remember a time when Parliament - our country’s highest governing institution – has been brought into such disrepute. And the Parliamentarians have only themselves to blame.
Can an individual make a difference? Sheryl Savill would like to think so. Sheryl is the instigator of the Citizens Initiated Referendum petition on smacking. Launched in February last year, her petition asked the question, “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?”
I am not normally one to get involved in politics or public demonstrations. But when I realised how the anti-smacking bill would directly affect the way I was raising my children, I just knew that I had to do something. And I discovered very early on that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way - many of the parents I talked to thought the bill was ludicrous. So ludicrous, they felt that there wasn’t even a need for a petition… surely our politicians weren’t that blind. The ironic thing about it was that many children also thought it was illogical!
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