EDITORIAL: Smacks of bias

18th June 2009

Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?

Sorry ... what?

That's the question to be asked in a citizens-initiated referendum on smacking laws. Some people are obviously willing to go to extreme lengths to be able to lawfully hit children.

Those lengths include conducting a petition with a dodgy question - who decides what is "good" parental correction -- to force an expensive public vote.

The referendum that counted was in November - National won. If our elected rulers see fit to change the laws, so be it. That's democracy for you.

And if the public simply must be polled on smacking, couldn't it have been done at the same time as the general election, saving millions of dollars?

There's a lesson here for future petitioners, as politicians distance themselves from the referendum because the question is ambiguous and weighted.

Keep it simple. If you're right, and the majority is on your side, you'll get the numbers asking a basic question.

Citizens-initiated referendums can achieve great things - but the voters should feel they're not being railroaded by the question.

That mistake is already beginning to backfire.

It's Volunteer Awareness Week, and, let's face it, if anyone deserves an awareness month, let alone a week, it's this lot.

Time is precious, and as such is a valuable gift for us to give, but so many of you give and give selflessly, time and time again.

This week you should be putting your feet up while the rest of us look after your needs, but the fact is, you're the type of people who simply wouldn't be comfortable with that.

No, you're all about helping others, and it's not about the recognition.

Well, like it or not, this week is your week, and you deserve the recognition.

A few weeks ago we ran an editorial calling for drivers to refrain from talking or texting on their mobile phones while at the wheel. A hands-free kit was mentioned as an alternative.

Check out this British government road safety website - www.dft.gov.uk/drivingchallenge/ - and you may well find the hands-free doesn't appear that safe an option either.

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