Ban the smacks, says Laila Harre

Youth Affairs Minister Laila Harre has condemned the law allowing children to be smacked, calling it "legalised violence."

Under the Crimes Act, parents are allowed to use reasonable physical force to discipline their children.

But Ms Harre told 200 delegates at a conference on children conference in Dunedin yesterday that she believed it was time that changed.

"When it comes to our renewed focus on creating safe environments for children, I think this is a fundamental anomaly.

"Unless we have naturally selected for a nation of sado-masochists, then it seems extremely unlikely to me that children would choose physical punishment as the way they want their parents and caregivers to communicate with them about their behaviour."

She said no one could say what constituted "reasonable force."

Staunch opposition to the Government's plans to review the law had disturbed her.

Even with New Zealand's "horrific" rate of child abuse, people not only turned a blind eye but promoted violence as a child development tool.

Ms Harre opened the Children and Young People: Their Environments conference.

- NZPA