'Light smacking' to be allowed under proposed law change

Green MP Sue Bradford has conceded that her bill removing the defence of "reasonable force" when disciplining children should not outlaw light smacking.

She has accepted a rewording may be necessary so this is clear.

National welcomed the change, but its families spokeswoman Judith Collins said the support of her party's MPs was still not guaranteed.

Winning the support of either National or Labour, which both voted along party lines at the bill's first reading, will be crucial to getting the legislation passed.

Ms Bradford today acknowledged that rewording the bill, or the MPs' commentary that goes with it, might be necessary to make it absolutely clear that it did not seek to outlaw light smacking.

Previously she has said the bill would not outlaw smacking, despite police advice to the contrary -- although police said parents who lightly smacked their child would be unlikely to be prosecuted.

"I never set out to ban smacking and if making that clear in either the wording or the commentary means some wavering MPs support the bill then I think that's a good idea," Ms Bradford said.

Mrs Collins, an ardent opponent of the bill in its current form, said she was pleased Ms Bradford had "seen sense".

"No one wants to see the current law used as an excuse for violent assault," she said.

"But National has consistently argued that this clumsy bill would have made criminals of responsible parents who lightly smack, or even those who attempt to restrain their children."

National MPs would reserve judgment on the bill until its final form was known.

Debate on the bill, which repeals the reasonable-force defence for parents and guardians in section 59 of the Crimes Act, will begin again in earnest when Parliament's justice and electoral select committee begins hearing submissions on Thursday.

Mrs Collins said National MP Chester Borrows would propose an amendment to define reasonable force.

If that was adopted there was a chance National would support the bill, she said.

Ms Bradford said she was against defining a set level of reasonable force.

Condoning a specified level of violence against children in law, would effectively mean the state was sanctioning the hitting of children, she said.

- NZPA