Cosgrove Clayton: Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Cosgrove Clayton: Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:638;Page:8863] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Minister for Building and Construction) 
: 
 I rise to speak to two amendments to the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill and to support the bill itself. The first amendment is in the name of my colleague the Hon David Benson-Pope and the second amendment which was announced by the Prime Minister today and put forward by the Hon Peter Dunne puts beyond doubt what has always been the intention of this bill. Both amendments provide added safeguards for parents. Both address the legitimate concerns of good caring parents throughout the country who deserve reassurance that the bill will achieve its intended purpose. 
The first amendment which I put to Cabinet means that the effects of the Act will be monitored. Two years from the commencement date of the Act the chief executive of the Ministry of Social Development will review whether the Act is working as intended and whether there have been any additional impacts and will report to the Minister for Social Development and Employment. The review report will be tabled in the House for this Parliament’s scrutiny. 
I believe that the media have finally realised that this bill does not outlaw smacking children. It technically amends the current section 59 defence in the Crimes Act which effectively closes a loophole through which some parents—bad parents—have been acquitted in situations of clear use of excessive violence against their children. There has always been a large degree of agreement that using the section 59 defence as an excuse was wrong. Attempts to codify what is acceptable violence have been resisted. 
I have to say to the Committee that I took a lot of convincing over this bill. It is no secret to members that I take a more conservative stance than many in this Chamber over many of these sorts of issues. The changes made by the Justice and Electoral Committee on advice from the Law Commission did indeed improve this bill and they were underpinned by prosecution guidelines and the appropriate use of police discretion. On that basis I support the bill. However my belief is that the added protection of a review is also needed. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Clem Simich) 
: I am sorry to interrupt the member but it would be better to address those matters when we come to new clause 6. Only two amendments apply to this clause clause 4 and those are from Mr Copeland and Mr Dunne. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Sure. Thank you Mr Chairperson; I appreciate that. 
I have spoken face to face with hundreds of my own constituents in Waimakariri and other places around the country about this bill. There are zealots of course but most Kiwis are open to reasoned discussion and debate. When they realise that this bill will not do what the mischief-makers and scaremongers say it will do they tend to take a different and reasoned view. They understand that we are not trying to tell parents how to run their lives or their families. Some have said to me that the bill will not stop another James Whakaruru. They may well be right. But if this bill saves one child from the evil and dastardly punishment meted out to that little boy then I think that it is worthwhile and that this Parliament will bring honour on itself and on his memory in passing it. 
 Let us be absolutely clear: the overwhelming majority of parents discipline their children responsibly but the sad truth is that a small number of parents and caregivers use lumps of wood riding crops and vacuum cleaner pipes to beat their children. When many of those people turn up to court they roll out the lawyers and wave the section 59 defence in front of the judge and often they get off. That is a fact. This bill simply means that bad parents who beat and bash their children will be held to account in a court of law and I am confident that the police will act responsibly and not lay frivolous charges against decent loving parents. The police have always made these judgment calls. They make them every day of the week. They are trained to do so. Parents have never been criminalised and in my view they were never going to be criminalised under this bill despite the best efforts of scaremongers to deliberately misinform our communities for their own political ends. 
A man whom I admire is a former Prime Minister of Australia the Hon Paul Keating. He once said that leadership is not simply about being popular; it is also about being right. The amendment announced today by our Prime Minister makes explicit that which was always implicit in this bill as reported back. I firmly believe that this bill as amended in the Social Services Committee and with these further amendments is indeed the right thing to do. I am charged as a constituent member not simply to do what is popular but after listening and discussing issues with my constituents to make a judgment and do what I believe to be right even at the risk of facing unpopularity. In voting against the Prostitution Reform Bill the Civil Union Bill and the euthanasia legislation many said I was right and many said I was wrong. My constituents pay me not to posture politically but to listen and to have the guts to make a judgment—a judgment that is in the best interests of all our communities. 
Kiwis are indeed fair-minded. They respect those on all sides of the Chamber who have the courage of their convictions even if there is disagreement about a particular issue. But the truth is that only history will make an enduring judgment of members from all sides in this debate in this Chamber. 
I want to conclude with a quote from Bobby Kennedy. When he was Attorney-General of the United States he said a very interesting thing which I think is noteworthy in this debate—despite the interjections and the fun generated by some on the other side of the Chamber. He said that violence “whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of the law … in cold blood or in passion in an attack of violence or in response to violence … the whole nation is degraded. …Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity and our claims to civilization alike. … Yet we know what we must do. It is to achieve true justice among our fellow citizens.” I believe that this bill advances the cause of true justice amongst our fellow citizens—the most vulnerable citizens: our children. It sends a very clear signal that violence against children is unacceptable. In my view there can be no higher calling for a member of this Parliament. I commend the bill.