Australian MP says Bill to prevent child abuse is 'anti-white'

SYDNEY - An Australian politician has sparked a row by claiming that new legislation aimed at preventing the physical abuse of children is "anti-white" because the parents of dark-skinned children can more easily conceal their wounds.

Charlie Lynn, a member of the conservative Liberal Party told the New South Wales state parliament that the proposed measures did not stipulate the physical evidence required for parents to be prosecuted.

"It depends on whether a child has got a light complexion or a dark complexion," said Mr Lynn, an opposition politician in the NSW parliament.

He warned of "a situation where a child with a dark complexion is trying to convince them he actually has a bruise and he can't show them because of the physical make-up of that particular child doesn't allow the bruise to come through."

Under the new legislation, which was introduced by an independent MP and is supported by the Labour state government, parents would no longer be able to use the defence of "lawful correction" as justification for hitting their children over the head or on the neck for more than a short period.

Opposition MPs say it is a licence for the Government to interfere with the rights of parents.

So many state Liberal MPs are opposed to the legislation that the party leader, Kerry Chikarovski, has agreed to allow them a conscience vote.

Members of the right-wing National Party, who are political allies of the Liberals, also plan to vote against the Bill, which they call "social engineering."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Howard yesterday defended federal legislation that will allow children as young as 10 to be strip-searched at detention centres for illegal immigrants.

The measures are intended to tighten security at the centres, the scene of repeated riots in recent months.

Human rights groups say the disturbances are triggered by prolonged detention in cramped and isolated conditions.

- INDEPENDENT