KEY POINTS:
Officially New Zealand designated 2007 as the year to say no to violence against children. In practice, it was more of the same, sad story.
The controversial anti-smacking bill passed nearly unanimously and the Government launched a multi-million-dollar, nationwide campaign against domestic violence.
Yet the tragic stories of
violence towards children continued. Some of the most prominent were:
* Nia Glassie: In May the Rotorua 3-year-old was hospitalised and died days later. She had apparently been assaulted over a period of four months.
Reports of her injuries sparked angry calls throughout the country for action over violence to children.
Two men have been charged with her murder and three others, including her mother, have been charged with manslaughter.
* Jhia Harmony Te Tua: The 2-year-old daughter of a Black Power gang member died on May 5, shot during an alleged drive-by shooting of a house in Wanganui. Jhia was asleep on a sofa.
Twelve patched Mongrel Mob members and associates have been charged with murder.
As well as the deaths of children last year, courts heard details of cases from previous years.
* Chris Kahui made headlines several times with bail-related court appearances - a constant reminder of the 2006 deaths of his 3-month-old sons, Chris and Cru. He is due to stand trial for murder in April.
* In February, Maine Ngati, 32, and her partner, Teusila Fa'asisila, 27, were sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison over the 2005 death of Ngati's 3-year-old son, Ngatikaura Ngati, who was beaten with several weapons, including a baseball bat, after soiling himself.
* Michael Curran was convicted of murdering 3-year-old Aaliyah Morrissey, while he was on bail for the manslaughter of Natasha Hayden. Aaliyah died of head injuries in September 2005. Curran is due to be sentenced next month.
* Jaymie Ellen Haddock was jailed in December for wilfully neglecting her daughter, Sarah, who died in March 2005 from a subdural haemorrhage caused by a fractured skull.
* The final chapter in the 2003 murder of 6-year-old Coral-Ellen Burrows played out in the coroner's court in Wellington. After the inquest, her father Ron Burrows said the inquiry had put a spotlight on child abuse.
He said each time a child was attacked he would like to see coverage of the event so people would be aware of the magnitude of the problem.
"What about if all New Zealanders say, 'We've had enough'?"
It seemed the country had had enough. Enough of being labelled one of the highest perpetrators of child-killing. Enough of statistics underlining the violence to our children.
Despite public outcry about violence, what became known as the anti-smacking legislation - the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act - was not greeted with open arms by all.
Editorial pages of newspapers held vigorous debate over the issue and on March 28 hundreds of placard-bearing protesters marched through central Wellington in protest at the bill.
The bill polarised Parliament. Only a last-minute compromise forged by Prime Minister Helen Clark and National Party leader John Key assured that it had a majority.
The compromise inserted a proviso that the police had discretion not to prosecute a parent if they considered the offence to be inconsequential.
In November, a Masterton man became the first to be convicted under the new law, drawing mixed reactions.
The 33-year-old man pleaded guilty to assaulting his 8-year-old son. He had grabbed the boy's shoulder and smacked him three times. The court was told the child had been traumatised. His buttocks and shoulder were bruised.
Police said the disciplining of the child went well beyond a couple of light smacks. The man was sentenced to nine months' supervision.
Family First New Zealand national director Bob McCoskrie said at the time the conviction was the result of a law that criminalised good parents for lightly smacking their children.
In contrast, the Green MP who initiated the bill, Sue Bradford, said the case showed the new law was doing its job.
With so much media attention on the issue of child abuse, the Government took a stand in September when it introduced the "It's not ok" campaign, targeting domestic violence.
At the launch of the four-year campaign, Prime Minister Helen Clark said violence was never acceptable.
"No New Zealander - from a parent, a police officer, a paediatrician or a prime minister - should have to say that such violent acts are not okay. But that is exactly what we now have to do," she said.
Somewhat undermining to the anti-violence message was Cabinet minister Trevor Mallard's Beehive scrap with Tau Henare.
Act leader Rodney Hide noted the irony of the situation, pointing out the Government was spending millions teaching New Zealanders violence was not okay.
"Not only that, but it is a bit rich that it is now a criminal offence for parents to smack their children but it is okay for a minister to punch an MP," Mr Hide said.
Later Mr Mallard described himself as a 53-year-old cabinet minister acting like a schoolboy.
"It's one of the most stupid things I've ever done in my life and I really regret it," he said.
Accountant Graham McCready took out a private prosecution against Mr Mallard, who denied a charge of assault but pleaded guilty to fighting in a public place. He agreed to pay $500 to the Salvation Army.
- NZPA
