 |
| Image from The Financial Review |
Good on Tony Abbott!!!
A ban on parents smacking their children risks turning Australia into a nanny state, says Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who admits he smacked his own kids.
A UN Committee on the Rights of the Child report asks Australia to abolish the right of parents to use reasonable chastisement to discipline children, News Corp Australia reports.
The committee would also like teachers and childcare workers to report cases of parents smacking their children.
But the idea has not grabbed Mr Abbott.
"I was probably one of those guilty parents who did occasionally chastise the children, a very gentle smack I've got to say," Mr Abbott told the Seven Network on Thursday.
"I think that we've got to treat our kids well, but I don't think we ought to say there's no place ever for smacks.
"All parents know that occasionally the best thing we can give is a smack, but it should never be something that hurts them."
Mr Abbott said it was "always a danger" that these types of bans moved Australia towards a nanny state.
"I think we often see political correctness taken to extremes and maybe this is another example," he said.
I always thought that there was something going on in the background that our previous Prime Minister, Helen Clark filled John Key in on when John Key did his infamous about turn on the smacking bill that Green MP, Sue Bradford put into Parliament.
Helen Clark, of course, went on to work at the UN (surprise, surprise) when National, headed by John Key, won the election because of the public's annoyance over the extent of political correctness that Labour had overseen in their years in power.
Most people expected National to overturn the hated smacking bill when he became Prime Minister, especially once the referendum results came in that overwhelmingly supported overturning the legislation despite how the political pundits tried to spin it.
Yet, John Key did not overturn the legislation and tried to find excuses as to why he couldn't. "A whole lot of people" wouldn't like it, he said in an interview on radio when grilled by the host as to why the he couldn't change the law now that the people had spoken.
This one issue alone highlights the differences between the two Prime Ministers. John Key, raised by a single mother, has not been able to stand up to the pressure exerted upon him by the United Nations, while as Tony Abbott, who had a father in his life that "set out quite deliberately to make his son a fighter and a leader," was able to call out banning smacking for what it is - political correctness taken to extremes.
Related links: Tony Abbott admits to smacking his children, rules out ban ~ The Age (link contains an autoplay video that can be turned off if you're quick enough)
I always thought that, too; that Helen filled in Key on something. It's like, yes, you may have your own ideas, but this is what's going on behind the scenes, you see?
ReplyDelete