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2009/19: Should it be illegal for parents to smack their children?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: a recent Channel Nine news report on a survey of parents' opinions on corporal punishment of children.
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What they said...
'All forms of smacking children should be banned, it shouldn't matter whether it is hand, spoon or belt. It is still physical assault and our children deserve better'
Herald Sun commentator, Susie O'Brien
'Paddling or spanking to reinforce the idea something is wrong or bad and dangerous is not assault and that is ridiculous'
Mr John Morrissey, a spokesperson for the Australian Families Association
The issue at a glance
On October 14, 2009, a Victorian mother was warned by police officers that she risked being charged with 'assault with a weapon' after her daughter revealed during a classroom discussion on bullying that her mother sometimes smacked her with a wooden spoon.
The news report of this incident, published in the Herald Sun on October 15, 2009, sparked immediate controversy.
There are those who have claimed that any physical punishment inflicted on children should be regarded as a crime. There are others who have claimed that some physical punishment, especially if it is given with an open hand, is often necessary and should be allowable.
The Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, was asked for his attitude on the issue. He admitted that he had sometimes smacked his children when they were young and he did not consider the imposition of moderate discipline was a basis for criminalising parents. Others have continued to disagree with him.
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