Anti-violence bodies chide Govt over Rankin despite extra cash

Domestic violence agencies have taken the rare step of criticising the Government over Christine Rankin's appointment to the Families Commission on the same day the Government gave them more money.

Women's Refuges, the National Network of Stopping Violence Services and the country's biggest single anti-violence agency, Preventing Violence in the Home, will be among the biggest beneficiaries of a $40 million funding boost for social service agencies announced yesterday.

But all said yesterday they either had written, or planned to write, to Prime Minister John Key protesting against Ms Rankin's appointment as one of seven Families Commissioners.

Women's Refuges chief executive Heather Henare told Mr Key the appointment "has the potential to undermine the credibility of the Families Commission" because of Ms Rankin's stance on the 2007 "anti-smacking" law, which removed parents' ability to claim parental "correction" as a defence against charges of assaulting their children.

The Families Commission under former Chief Commissioner Rajen Prasad, now a Labour MP, took a leading role in supporting the law change. It has also led the "It's not okay" campaign against domestic violence.

But the For the Sake of Our Children Trust, which Ms Rankin led at the time, helped to organise a petition which has forced the Government to hold a referendum on the law in July.

"Ms Rankin's suitability for a position representing and advocating on behalf of children is surely questionable when she clearly does not support measures to protect them from assault," Ms Henare told Mr Key.

National Network of Stopping Violence Services manager Brian Gardner said he planned to write a similar letter to Mr Key because of a widespread view in the anti-violence movement that allowing parents to hit their children fostered tolerance of family violence.

"Not all people who are hit will go on to use violence against others, but it's a really significant risk factor. It can often escalate from hitting to further assault and abuse of kids," he said.

"We think it's really critical that someone in that role [Families Commissioner] is able to say that hitting children is detrimental, that's what the research tells us."

He said there were "high levels of concern at the appointment" at a meeting of anti-violence agencies in Wellington yesterday.

Preventing Violence in the Home director Jane Drumm said there was "general disquiet and shock" among her staff when the appointment was announced.

She also planned to write to Mr Key and was alarmed that Social Development Minister Paula Bennett had given her own staff an effective vote of no confidence by appointing Ms Rankin.

"It's a very public way for her to imply that she does not agree with the work of so many different people who have worked, not only in the department that she's the minister of, but also in the Families Commission and in all the non-government organisations that have worked for many years to try and stop the level of violence in this country," she said.

But Ms Bennett defended the appointment yesterday and repeated Mr Key's comment that Ms Rankin would be only one of seven part-time commissioners.

"I have other people telling me I should have made her full time," she said.

"I can fully appreciate that she's controversial and there are differences of opinion out there. She's a part-time commissioner. We are leaving it at that."