HEALTH LEGISLATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 89, 14 April 1923, Page 24

HEALTH LEGISLATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

51 The recent report of the Government t Special Commission on the Socialk- Hygienic Bill is discussed in " The s Dawn," Western Australia, by Mrs. - Amelia McDonald, who paid a visit to ' New Zealand last year. Mrs. McDonald i says:— t "Generally speaking, the report is one '■ of great interest, and shows a marked 9 advance in the line of thought given to t social and sex questions. The fact that c a woman, albeit not one chosen by the s women's societies, and not thought by d them to represent their views, still the 1 fact remains that evidence was taken ,in her presence, which goes to prove ■ that, although slowly, we are steadily !, progressing toward that time when r women shall be on all councils where 5 men decide the course of. procedure to t be followed and obeyed by the comt munity. , "That the Commissioner's high hopes ,_ for the good likely to accruo to the com- . munity from the action of compulsory g notification is in our mind doomed to r dismal failure. "We can point to our own Act upon B ' which largely the New Zealand Commisj j sion's findings are based, and say with- , out fear of contradiction that the only '_' real good that has come to W.A. in this c connection is simply the extended sysi tern of free treatment, which we coneider could, with great benefit, be much t further extended with far-reaching ret suits. I "There are several good points in the l "|"New Zealand Report," especially I where it stresses the great need for I a definite line of teaching the children. J: " (1) The teaching of the young by their parents. c , " (2) The teaching of parents by " means of pamphlets broadcasted by the Education Department. ; ' I " (3) The teaching by specially gifted 1 persons of those children whom their i parents have failed to instruct, etc. "The Director of Education, New I Zealand, considers that it is not mere ',' physiology that will meet the case. The - most important thing of all is to estab--7 lish in the minds of children noble I f, ideals with regard to infanthood and motherhood. Lessons in connection with the care of all birds and animals for their young, with the love and devotion of parents for their young, with all that is beautiful and tender connected with> the homes of animals and birds, would establish a, kind of reverence about everything connected with birth. He deprecates mechanical systematic and consecutive instructions in the mere facts of sex hygiene, and would rather aim at creating the right atmosphere so that the child might put in its proper setting any knowledge that might come to him from various sources later on. "Prophylaxis is dealt with in a very guarded manner; evidently the medical profession is trying to get in the thin edge of the wedge, but it ie hoped that the good, sense of the New Zealand people will rise up against even a modified measure of such a system. "I cannot close without reference to Section 3, dealing with Licensed Brothels: Flexner and other writers are quoted to show how futile such places are, .and how the incidence of V.D. increases wherever such places are tolerated. In other words, the system of licensed ' houses is a failure, an* the "Bed light" shine's out as the lurid signal of disease and death."