Family First NZ

Cynical Porn Parade Will Confront Children

Bob — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:01:43 +0000

Media Release 22 Feb 2012
Family First NZ is advising parents of school children in Palmerston North to be aware that there will be a public pornography parade featuring topless girls happening after children have been released from school on Friday.

“The Erotica Promotion, also known as Boobs on Bikes, is scheduled to travel around the central city square from 4pm. This is a cynical move by the hard core porn industry to expose children and young people to the industry,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“We would advise parents to do everything they can to avoid children being exposed to this parade, and if necessary, they should keep their children at home for the day.”

Family First is disappointed that the parade is even able to happen in such a public venue but points the blame squarely at the police for not enforcing the law consistently, judges who believe that topless porn parades and nudity are not offensive, and the lack of political willpower to act in the best interests of families and children.

“Steve Crow can label it a ‘freedom of expression’ event, but to the intelligent, it is simply a cynical attempt to market and normalise the porn industry to families.”

“It is time that the rights of families not to be exposed to offensive and adult material are put before the rights of the pornography industry to promote themselves,” says Mr McCoskrie.

Family First NZ continues to call on the politicians to amend the Summary Offences Act and the Crimes Act so that public porn parades and public displays of nudity are deemed offensive and indecent, and thereby illegal.
ENDS

Aunt: Toddler’s birth and death taxpayer funded

Bob — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:55:49 +0000

NZ Herald 22 Feb 2012
A coronial inquest into the death of Hail-Sage McClutchie ended this morning with a heart-felt plea from her aunty for communities to protect not only vulnerable children but “vulnerable parents”….

Coroner Peter Ryan grilled Child, Youth and Family’s chief social worker Paul Nixon on its information sharing with other government agencies. During the inquest it was revealed that CYF had no knowledge of Hail-Sage’s birth despite Ms Percy’s other child in its care….Hail-Sage’s death prompted the release of two Families Commission reports that look at the issue of children born into families where Child Youth and Family (CYF) have removed previous children from the parents’ care because of abuse.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10787246

Lesbian parents ‘betrayed’ by gay father demanding to see his son

Bob — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:22:06 +0000

Telegraph (UK) 6 Feb 2012
A two-year-old boy with “three parents” – his lesbian mother, her partner and a gay father – is at the centre of an Appeal Court test case on the status of “alternative” families. The mother says she made a pact with the father during a restaurant meeting before the boy was conceived that she and her lover would fill the role of “primary parents” within a “nuclear family” and that he would not stand on his paternal rights. But now she and her partner say they feel “bitter and betrayed” after the father – a former close friend who attended the birth and held the new-born baby in his arms – demanded overnight and holiday contact with his biological son. All three parents are highly-paid professionals living in central London and the father, in his 40s, insists he was always far more than a mere sperm donor and he wants to play a full paternal role in the life of the only child he is every likely to have. The father was formerly in a “marriage of convenience” with the mother, although they are now divorced, and three Appeal Court judges are being asked to rule on whether the little boy would be best off with “three parents and two homes”. Alex Verdan QC, for the father, warned the judges against “importing traditional or stereotypical models” into their consideration of the case, and added: “This appeal raises important issues relating to the court’s approach to children born into alternative families”.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9064241/Lesbian-parents-betrayed-by-gay-father-demanding-to-see-his-son.html

Sex shop moving near school shocks locals

Bob — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:43:28 +0000

Bay of Plenty Times 20 Feb 2012
Residents in the Tauranga suburb of Greerton are upset they’ll soon be sharing their “family suburb” with an adult entertainment shop. A former police youth aid officer has hit back at the critics, who have condemned him for setting up Aristocrat Adult Boutique, on Chadwick Rd near Greerton Village School.

…Mr McCoy said there was nothing in Aristocrat Adult Boutique that wasn’t available for sale or viewing in local DVD shops, magazine retailers, and supermarkets. Even adult toys were available in some chemists, he claimed. However, a Tauranga father, who spoke on the condition he wasn’t named, said he didn’t think it was appropriate an adult store was set up 100m away from Greerton Village School.
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/news/sex-shop-moving-near-school-shocks-locals/1277714/

Steady decline in NZ abortions

Bob — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:38:35 +0000

3 News 22 Feb 2012
The number of abortions in New Zealand has been steadily dropping since 2007, a new report says. The Abortion Supervisory Committee has presented its report to parliament and it shows there were 16,630 abortions in 2010, 17,550 in 2009, 17,940 in 2008 and a recent peak of 18,382 in 2007. The report compares New Zealand with a group of selected countries and it has the second highest abortion rate. Sweden is the highest with 20.8 abortions per 1000 women between 15 and 44, New Zealand is next with 19.2 and Germany is the lowest at 7.2.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Steady-decline-in-NZ-abortions/tabid/423/articleID/243703/Default.aspx#ixzz1n2yDakBp

Growing number of kids opt for sex changes

Bob — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:33:04 +0000

NZ Herald 21 Feb 2012
A small but growing number of teens and even younger children who think they were born the wrong sex are getting support from parents and from doctors who give them sex-changing treatments, according to reports in the medical journal Pediatrics. It’s an issue that raises ethical questions, and some experts urge caution in treating children with puberty-blocking drugs and hormones. An 8-year-old second-grader in Los Angeles is a typical patient. Born a girl, the child announced at 18 months, “I a boy” and has stuck with that belief. The family was shocked but now refers to the child as a boy and is watching for the first signs of puberty to begin treatment, his mother told The Associated Press. Pediatricians need to know these kids exist and deserve treatment, said Dr. Norman Spack, author of one of three reports published Monday and director of one of the nation’s first gender identity medical clinics, at Children’s Hospital Boston. “If you open the doors, these are the kids who come. They’re out there. They’re in your practices,” Spack said in an interview.

….Some are labeled with “gender identity disorder,” a psychiatric diagnosis. But Spack is among doctors who think that’s a misnomer. Emerging research suggests they may have brain differences more similar to the opposite sex. Spack said by some estimates, 1 in 10,000 children have the condition. Offering sex-changing treatment to kids younger than 18 raises ethical concerns, and their parents’ motives need to be closely examined, said Dr. Margaret Moon, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ bioethics committee. She was not involved in any of the reports.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=10786801

Women at greater danger from pokies

Bob — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:08:59 +0000

The Age (Australia) 18 Feb 2012
THE number of women gambling is increasing and ease of access to poker machines is a key factor in producing problem gambling in women, new government funded research has found. The new report by the Responsible Gambling Advocacy Centre, Women and Gambling: Issues of Difference found women are likely than men to become problem gamblers later in life and take longer to recover from problem gambling. ”Women are more likely to gamble in ways that are comparatively isolated, that require low or no levels of social interaction and are likely to be motivated to gamble as an escape from problems,” the research found.

….. Samiro Douglas from the Women’s Information and Referral Exchange said she believed gambling problems were under-reported by women. ”Women do not disclose gambling problems easily… how would a woman balance the perception of herself as being a good mother and also a gambler? I think think there is a greater stigma for a woman to say she has got a problem with the pokies,” she said. ”It is kind of like spending your money on the pokies and being a good mother doesn’t equate, society would really judge that more.”She said this stigma may prevent some women seeking help.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/women-at-greater-danger-from-pokies-report-finds-20120217-1ter6.html

Brothel scares and stresses neighbourhood

Bob — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 02:03:08 +0000

Christchurch Press 18 Feb 2012
A Christchurch brothel has angered nearby residents, who claim “audible noises of climax” can be heard from the business in the evening. The Capri Lounge, on Papanui Rd, Merivale, also faces legal proceedings from a rival bordello with a similar name. The Christchurch City Council is investigating the Capri Lounge, but said it appeared to be complying with “a number” of council regulations. Residents have formed a group, Families and Brothels Don’t Mix, to express their concerns. A spokeswoman for the group, who wished to remain anonymous, said the brothel did not comply with the rules for home-operated businesses. “They’re meant to operate between 7am and 11pm, but they take customers after 11pm every night.” The woman said there were some “pretty scary people” involved with the brothel, and residents were afraid to let their children play outdoors. Several homes in the area had been damaged by the city’s earthquakes, and the brothel’s operation was “the last straw” for residents, she said. A male resident, who did not want to be named, said “audible noises of climax” could be frequently heard from the brothel at night, and sex workers made their presence clear to passers-by. “They’re leaning out the window and swinging their legs – it’s like something out of Amsterdam.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/6440050/Brothel-scares-and-stresses-neighbourhood

Restorative justice goes to schools

Bob — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:48:18 +0000

Dominion Post 18 Feb 2012
Detention could soon be a relic of the past, with schools increasingly dropping the punishment in favour of “restorative chats” and other rehabilitative measures. St Patrick’s College Silverstream is the latest Wellington high school to adopt the restorative justice principles, with a no-detention approach for even the worst troublemakers. The practice is becoming widespread in schools nationwide, with restorative measures – including encouraging naughty pupils to evaluate their behaviour – replacing traditional behaviour management methods. While detentions, expulsions and suspensions have been typically used as forms of punishment to control pupil behaviour, restorative principles are based on the idea that a pupil needs to take responsibility for his or her actions. St Patrick’s Silverstream rector Gerard Tully said that fitted in with the school’s focus on encouraging positive, respectful relationships between pupils and teachers. Instead of being punished, a misbehaving pupil would discuss the impact of their actions with a teacher. That could range from a two-minute chat to a formal, sit-down conference. While it would require a shift in thinking, it made more sense to prepare young people to be adults by tackling their problems, Mr Tully said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6439977/Restorative-justice-goes-to-school

The folly of being slaves to the pokie lobby

Bob — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:43:10 +0000

Tim Costello CEO World Vision Australia
Sydney Morning Herald 15 Feb 2012
Like slavery in the time of Wilberforce, there is no politician that likes pokies. Indeed, most politicians on both sides tell me they hate them. But in the next breath they say reform is too hard because we are dependent on pokies. They argue state revenues depend (except in WA) on reaping 40 to 60 per cent of the $12 billion lost by problem gamblers. And as there are only 100,000 Australians addicted to pokies, and it is a matter of personal responsibility, it is not that big a problem anyway.

Each addict affects five to 10 others, meaning up to 1 million Australians are affected, the Productivity Commission found. Leaving that aside, why should even 100,000 people be sacrificed on the pokies altar on the grounds of personal responsibility? We have 100,000 homeless, many of whom made irresponsible choices, yet they enjoy bipartisan policies of intervention. We have 72,000 heroin addicts and treat it as a serious health issue.

There are extraordinary parallels between the arguments that stymied the abolition of slavery and those put forward today to quash poker machine reform.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/history-books-will-show-the-folly-of-being-slaves-to-the-pokie-lobby-20120214-1t42a.html#ixzz1mZki8RuT