Section 59

The present wording of s. 59 can be found on line: click here.

I mentioned a literature review on the effects of corporal punishment, and you can find that here.

There's another article on public submissions to the amendment Bill that may also be interesting, here. But remember that, while public opinion is relevant to Parliament's deliberations, it is not the only factor to consider. International legal obligations on States and research-based evidence need to be taken into account.

The UN convention on the rights of the child includes a periodic review of NZ as a signatory. Click here for more info, and then click on the link that says 'concluding observations' to download the most recent UN Committee report on NZ (dated 2003). That document does include comments about S. 59.

Poverty

A couple of students have already asked about the poverty essay question and where to find info on this. As the lecture on this topic is a while away, and as it is a question that really does require reference to well-informed analyses, I refer you to some useful on-line sources.

First, the Social Report's data on economic standard of living (and possibly other indicators) will be useful as a basic set of stats for NZ. Please note that the Social Report does not use the term 'poverty'.

The MSD's own journal the Social Policy Journal of NZ also carries numerous articles about poverty, and you can browse and download these free on line. Note that you can sort by subject, and one of the subjects in the list is 'poverty'. Just a wee hint there.

You can also look at the Child Poverty Action Group, who are a lobby group and have some highly qualified researchers working for them. They will give a more critical perspective on government policy.

If you're really ambitious, you might like to look at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation too, even though they are in the UK.

So please DO NOT consult randomly googled newspaper columns, blogs etc for 'research' on this topic. If you do that, your grade will suffer for it.