NATIONAL PARTY CONFERENCE Corporal Punishment Decision Reversed

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30191, 24 July 1963, Page 8

NATIONAL PARTY CONFERENCE Corporal Punishment Decision Reversed

(New Zealand Press Association) ' WELLINGTON, July 23. The National Party conference today reversed a decision of its two previous conferences and dropped a recommendation to the Government that it introduce corporal punishment in New Zealand. It did so after listening to the Minister of Justice (Mr Hanan) speak against corporal punishment and the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) speak on the difficulty of implementing corporal punishment legislation.

The conference also decisively defeated an amendment in favour of a referendum on corporal punishment.

The remit said that “in view of the prevalence of unprovoked serious crimes involving brutal assaults on the victims from motives of robbery or sexual giratafication. the Government be requested either to reintroduce forthwith, as a deterrent, corporal punishment for persons convicted of these crimes, or to hold a general referendum as soon as practicable to enable the voters of New Zealand to decide the issue.” Mr C. F. Jacobs, a member of the Dominion branch, submitted an amendment that a public referendum should be held, and said it was the only satisfactory way in which the matter could be dealt with.

Mr J L. Reid (New Lynn), said the conference had in the last two years overwhelmingly earned a similar motion yet one or two members of Parliament who were sincerely convinced they were right had opposed’ this and the will of the conference had not been carried out. Brigadier J. G. C. Wales (Remuera) opposed the holding of a referendum and said it was a job for the Government. This time they had 15 electorates in New Zealand all sending in a remit in favour of corporal punishment.

It w as not intended that corporal punishment should be given indiscriminately but it was intended that -the judges and magistrates should have the power to order corporal punishment in cases where they thought it fitted the crime, “We must have a deterrent that deters,” he said, “and we oppose the suggestion this should be a decision by referendum. We say the Government is strong enough to do it and we ask them now to give effect to the wishes of the National Party throughout New Zealand.” “Women And Children”

Mrs J. G. Reeves (Raglan) said she felt very strongly on the subject. ‘This is the third time I have spoken on birching. I hope you will come out on the side of the women and children,” she said.

Mr D. B. Downer-Kingston (Wellington Central) said 150 years ago Australia was populated by people who stole sheep. They were either hanged or deported. In the middle ages they had torture and 80 years ago it was still a punishment in the army and navy to inflict flogging. They looked upon these things with abhorrence today What was wanted was a fair term of penal punishment. Flogging a man would do nothing to soothe the feelings of the victims or of the relatives of the victims. Mrs A. Caccia-Birch (Rangitikei) said that in her opinion a 17-year-old boy would be more improved by a good birching than by a term in prison. Mrs E. A. Wylie (Mount Albert) said: “If we are dealing with criminal abnormality let us treat it ?is such and deal with it medically. Mr Holyoake said he had no apology for the Government’s failure to act on the two previous recommendations of conference. He said National members were not open to the charge that they had been weak on this matter. If they were acting against public opinion then it would be a fact that they were acting strongly.

Buit even if the Government decided to go ahead with a corpora] punishment bill would not its fate be

the same as the capital punishment bill when 10 National members voted with Labour against it and it was defeated?

Mr Holyoake said a vote in the House on corporal punishment would be a conscience vote and if only seven National members voted with Labour against it then it would be defeated. “I don’t want to influence you,” Mr Holyoake said. “You wouldn’t expect me to put a bill forward knowing that it would be defeated.” U.K. Vote The Minister of Justice (Mr Hanan) said the United Kingdom Conservative Party conference had voted overwhelmingly against a reintroduction of corporal punishment.

The United Nations had for several years unanimously condemned corporal punishment and urged Britain to abandon it in her administered territories.

He said overseas expert committees quoted “figure after figure” which proved

' copclusively to them that corporal punishment had no deterrent value. He noted that this was especially so in the evidence of the Canadian Mounted Police about sex offences. “The difficulty comes with sexual deviation because by corporal punishment a minor deviate may become a major deviate unfit for release at any time,” he said. Three major overseas expert committees were unanimous that corporal punishment of offenders had no special deterrent value for offenders. Mr Hanan said that one out of every two New Zealanders sent to Borstal was returning to Borstal or prison, usually for a worse offence. “That is where the attack must be directed,” the Minister said.

“World opinion is overwhelmingly against corporal punishment,” Mr Hanan said, amid stamping and loud applause. Instead of the motion calling on the Government to reintroduce corporal punishment, the conference passed, decisively on the voices, an amendment expressing concern at the “apparent lightness” of some court sentences.