KEY POINTS:
Green MP Sue Bradford used Parliament's question time today to argue that her bill would not result in parents getting into trouble for smacking their kids.
However, National Party police spokesman Chester Borrows said police guidelines would force them to investigate every case.
Ms Bradford's member's bill removes the defence in the Crimes Act of "reasonable force" against assault on a child.
If it becomes law, it will be illegal for parents to hit their children to punish or correct them although they will be able to use "reasonable force" to stop them hurting themselves or another child, or to deal with disruptive behaviour.
Ms Bradford asked Police Minister Annette King what was police policy for technical offences such as when parents took children out of school for a holiday.
On behalf of Ms King, Cabinet Minister Phil Goff said police weighed up cases on whether it was in the public good to prosecute and minor offences seldom made it to court.
He said police looked at the quality of evidence and followed the Crown Solicitor's advice.
Mr Goff said if the bill was passed, police would look at how serious the assault was.
"They will decide in all of the circumstances on something that is serious that warrants the intervention of the law, not something that would be regarded as an offence but relatively minor."
Mr Borrows, who has proposed amending the bill so that parents will still be allowed to lightly smack their children without breaking the law, said the bar was higher than that.
"Will the minister confirm that every reported smacking will be investigated by police because not to investigate such matters seriously will be counter to the current family violence policy which says; 'the majority of offenders in family violence cases will appear before the court there may be rare cases when diversion might be considered providing it is not seen as the easy option'?"
Mr Goff countered that the police had told the select committee that considered the bill that police were already obliged to investigate suspected or reported assaults.
"So in that sense there won't be a great change in practice."
Mr Goff said it was up to the Police Commissioner Howard Broad to set best practice guidelines.
Supporters of the bill say it would send a vital signal that hitting children was unacceptable, arguing that under current law animals were better protected against abuse than children.
Opponents said it would criminalise loving parents who lightly smacked their children and do nothing to stop a violent minority who would neither know nor care that the law had been changed.
It has passed its first two readings.
- NZPA
