KEY POINTS:
Anglican: The bill marks a further important step down the road towards transforming the disproportionately high rates of violence in our country ... we believe repeal of section 59 provides an expression of hope and we wholeheartedly support it. - Statement from Anglican bishops.
Catholic: Caritas, the Catholic Agency for Justice, Peace and Development, supports neither the status quo - which it feels does not adequately protect children - nor the bill, because it does not define a threshold for prosecution of parents using physical force. - Caritas statement.
Presbyterian: The church does not have an official position. Ministers and congregations are free to make their own response on the issue. - Right Rev Pamela Tankersley, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Methodist: The general approach of the Methodist church is to back Sue Bradford's proposed bill. Not every member will hold that view, but as a church I believe that is where we could stand. - Methodist Church president John Salmon. Vision Network of evangelical churches.
The arguments for repeal did not seem compelling and the concerns about what may happen if that clause is repealed seemed to be quite valid. I would call on political leaders to find a way to really target the issue of child abuse, to improve the quality of child-rearing and not create the divisions in society that we've got. - Vision Network Director Glyn Carpenter.
Destiny Church: The church opposes the bill, Bishop Brian Tamaki saying it would effectively criminalise "any parent who uses 'reasonable' force when applying proper corrective discipline to their own children". He believes police will be forced to prosecute parents if children claim they are smacked. He says it contradicts Christians' "God-given responsibility to raise children accordingly to biblical principle, which includes administering loving, proper corrective discipline in appropriate circumstances".
Muslim: Islam has no view, but my personal view, which would be basically the majority view of our organisation, is that we would be opposed because it has the potential of making good parents into criminals. That is what we are worried about, because sometimes good parents have to take disciplinary action within the framework of the law. - Javed Khan, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand.
