Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Unbelievable

I cannot believe what I just heard. The Prime Minister is taking questions on NewstalkZB and was attempting to describe to a caller what happens to children after a parent is prosecuted for abuse and faces a prison sentence. (The caller was concerned about what would happen to children after the passage of the Bradford legislation and presumably more parents are prosecuted). She then said not to forget that Sue Bradford had another bill in the wings which would allow mothers to have their children in prison with them for longer which would ensure the bond isn't broken.

What?? So now we are going to send child abusers to prison but let them take their victims with them?? How far backwards are we prepared to bend to keep children with their biological mothers?? Is anybody thinking about the kids?? How bad is the situation in this country when the best we can offer a child is being incarcerated with her abusive mother??
Posted by at

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

When was it - you should be able to find the audio on their web site!

9:26 PM
Anonymous said...

How bad is the situation in this country when the best we can offer a child is being incarcerated with her abusive mother??

The woman's lost the plot.

Before the last election I thought the sheer arrogance, disconnection from real life, and apparent systemic intellectual dishonesty were excellent reasons for a change of Government, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR POLITICAL LEANINGS AT THE TIME.

I was extremely sad to discover labour would continue, and as we discovered, make very much worse, their previous record.

They have lost the plot. It has now got to the point where they're even turning on their own voters!!!

The real concern is that over the last decade or so, somehow, Labour has managed to strengthen people's feelings of entitlement, weaken their innate need to take personal responsibility, and as a result has set off on a course of social engineering.

NZers are "enjoying" one of the most socialist Governments in the world, supported by voters who have been allowed to believe it is OK to live long term on the risk and efforts of others. It feeds on NZ's psyche that any of us that stand out are inherently out of step with the rest.

I don't think I will see any reasonable change in my life time. I just have to put up with the fact it costs me $x to live here in exchange for a half decent place to live and bring up children. I mean, we're not (yet) concerned about who's going to shoot the next lot of school kids in this country. But it will come. We're the infamous 20-30 years behind after all.

There is some hope for thinking Labour voters in a Key-led National Government. Things won't stray too much off the beaten path (for them), but at least there will be a group of people with renewed energy and a much reduced foundation of righteousness. A key government won't please too many ACT and National voters, but it may just be the gentle detachment from state dependence that this country needs.

9:46 PM
peteremcc said...

I figured out the problem :)

You missed an 'e' in the url.

-Peter

12:13 AM
Lindsay Mitchell said...

Peter, fixed. Ta

scrubone, no audio. It's the Wellington show.

belt, I think she knows exactly what she's talking about. I rang the host about it and he hadn't taken the same inference as me. But she made this comment in the context of the question as blogged. I think it is intended that prison should attempt to rehabilitate an abusive mother while allowing her to keep her child.

The only other reason she could have dropped it in is as a mollifying gesture ie On one hand, while we may see more parents separated from their children due to imprisonment for abuse, on the other some children will have the privilege of being kept with an imprisoned parent (not there for abuse of course).

No. That seems unlikely.

7:28 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)