Collins Judith: Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Collins Judith: Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:637;Page:8024] 
JUDITH COLLINS (National—Clevedon) 
: 
 I rise to speak about the commencement date. I want to talk about it because the commencement date is not about just this bill. The commencement date is the day when Helen Clark and the Labour Government take charge of our households. The other members from the Labour Government who have spoken tonight have told us how they are here for their own brilliance they are here because they have been chosen by Helen Clark and they are here because they are so brilliant and they know so much more than the ordinary New Zealand parent. I represent the people of Clevedon and I represent the National Party. I know exactly where I stand and it is not standing on some little pinhead like those members are trying to make out that the commencement of this bill will somehow change the attitudes of people who kill babies—because it will not. These people are already living outside the law. They are already outlaws. They are already murderers. They are already killers. The people whom this bill will affect are good good parents. [ 
Interruption 
] 
I ask the people in the Labour Government who are shouting out whether they were ever smacked as a child. Were their parents criminals? I tell them that my parents are not criminals and I am not a criminal. I smacked my child and I am damned proud of it because I have a good kid and I am really pleased about it. I represent those people unlike some members in this Chamber—when we talk about the commencement date—who have not talked about what they have done and who are too ashamed to stand up and say what they have done. 
I am not going to stand up like Mrs Chadwick the current MP for Rotorua and read out an email from my husband to the Maori Party. How pathetic is that? The woman cannot even work out how to do her own emails. I will not stand up here and read out the thousands of emails I have had from people saying: “Leave my home to me. Let me be in charge of my home. Let my children be my responsibility because they are my children because nobody will ever care when this commencement date comes around about my child as much as my husband and me.” The reason is that that is what parents do. It is nothing special. It is normal. I know this is new for the Labour Government but that is normal because normal parents care about their children. 
When this bill goes through and we get to the commencement date those parents will be criminalised. Under this bill a parent who smacks a child’s hand for being naughty by way of correction will be a criminal. We can see how this will be abused in the Family Court system. Many people know this. How many people here have ever been involved in any way with the Family Court in any sort of custody battle anything like that either themselves with members of their family or as lawyers for clients? I tell members that one of the things we all know is that when people go into that Family Court process unfortunately even the most sensible nice and decent people can become somewhat strained. Sometimes people say things they should not say and they do things to each other that they should not do. Unfortunately this legislation when it starts on that commencement date will open up a whole new avenue for fathers to be accused of beating their children. It will set up a whole new avenue for mothers to be accused of losing it and smacking their children. It will absolutely disempower those parents. 
We are not talking about the people who kill babies. We are not talking about the people who whip children. We are not talking about the people who take a cane to a child and beat its bottom until it bleeds like some people in this Chamber could talk about. We are not going to talk about that because we want to outlaw that. That is why we support Chester Borrows’ amendment from this commencement date. But we do say that ordinary parents will smack their child aged 3 or 4 on the hand or the bottom to stop that child doing something he or she should not be doing. That is by way of correction. This bill even if the commencement date is amended specifically says that it will not protect a parent if a smack is used by way of correction. It specifically says that. So when I hear those women from the Labour Government screaming and shouting and trying to rip the paint off the walls I say they should read the bill.