Sending a strong message

Bureaucrats are fond of talking about sending messages to society either through creating policy or passing legislation. One example is the decision to prosecute an Upper Hutt woman for not making her 14 year-old son attend school.

Mokomoko is the first person to be prosecuted in an Education Ministry and police scheme to reduce truancy in the Hutt Valley and Wainuiomata.

She was due in court yesterday but failed to turn up (I thought that was contempt). The case proceeded and she was convicted (of what I am unsure). She escaped a fine because she's on the DPB and couldn't afford to pay one (since when has being on a benefit meant exemption from fines?) For the next six months she is on notice to reappear in court if required (how does she reappear when she didn't appear in the first place?)

So that little exercise will certainly send a strong message to other parents.