Section 59 “a complete and utter dog’s breakfast” says PM John Key

The Prime Minister acknowledged this morning on Radio Live that the current Section 59 of the Crimes Act 1961 – the so-called anti-smacking legislation promoted by Green MP Sue Bradford – is “a complete and utter dog’s breakfast”. He made this comment in an interview with Michael Laws on RadioLive at 11:40 AM today Friday, 4 September 2009.

The Rt. Hon. John Key might be very astute on financial matters but he appears to have little idea how the law should work in a true democracy. He will not be Prime Minister forever. Another government might tell the police to ignore his instructions and enforce the law as it is currently written.

John Boscawen’s Private Member’s Bill is almost identical to an amendment to the Bradford bill that Key was very much in favour of. If there was a referendum on the question of keeping the existing law or going back to the original Section 59, the Society is sure that the majority of New Zealanders would vote for a law change. Granted, there were a handful of doubtful verdicts which the jury may have got wrong over a period of about 15 years prior to the law change. However, the law did not need changing. But that is now history.

ACT’s John Boscawen bill is a genuine compromise and certainly a lot better than a law that the Prime Minister described today on Radio Live as “a complete and utter dog’s breakfast”.