Australia Presbyterian Church Opposes Ban on Smacking
at the date of
Kamis, 11 Agustus 2011
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The 600,000-strong Presbyterian Church fears parents could be stopped from using corporal punishment under Victoria's controversial human rights charter.
In a submission to a state Parliamentary inquiry, the church said the charter could be used to dump the common law right to smack children provided the force wasn't unreasonable or excessive.
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"Many Australian families use reasonable physical discipline from time to time," the Presbyterian Church and Nation Committee submission said.
"There is a significant body of research confirming its utility in raising children well."
But Australian Childhood Foundation chief executive Dr Joe Tucci said it was never right to hit children, and Victoria should follow NSW and outlaw any force used against kids.
"There are lots of risks in it," Dr Tucci said.
"If parents are really angry or frustrated at the time that they're doing it they could inadvertently hurt kids and that's our concern about it.
"More and more parents are moving away from physical punishment because it's not effective."
However, adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said it was ridiculous to legislate against smacking.
"I don't think we should be criminalising people, who when their children run across the road they give them a tap on the bum," Dr Carr-Gregg said.
Dr Carr-Gregg said he did not believe smacking was the solution to bad behaviour, but attempts to ban it had not worked elsewhere.
A recent study found parents who smacked their children could be depriving them of the skills they needed to cope with school and even with adulthood.
The Presbyterian church submission said Australia was being pressured to ban corporal punishment by a United Nations committee overseeing implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"It is one thing for there to be an internal domestic debate within each state and territory on the merits or otherwise of banning the use of corporal punishment within the home," it said.
"However, by incorporating the rights in the Convention on the Rights of the Child into the (Victorian human rights charter) these rights ... could be effectively imported into Victorian law."
The church was also worried the charter could be used to satisfy groups that wanted to stop parents withdrawing their kids from sex education classes.
The charter, introduced by Labor in 2006, is being reviewed by a Parliamentary committee.
Attorney-General Robert Clark has been critical of the charter and it is believed several Coalition MPs want to see it dumped.
Last week, one of the charter's greatest supporters, equal opportunity commissioner Dr Helen Szoke, announced she was quitting her job to take up a federal human rights position.
More than 300 submissions on the charter have been received by the scrutiny of acts and regulations committee, chaired by Liberal MP Ed O'Donohue.
Among those who have put arguments are former governor Sir James Gobbo, the Catholic Church, gay and lesbian rights groups, municipal councils, lawyers and doctors.(Herald Sun)
