The 'right' to smack a child is foreign to Australian law

There is a federal government initiative to effect law reform by having stricter rules about violence under the FamiIy Law Act. However, this will only mean that we are dealing with symptoms, not the cure, as the Commonwealth Model Criminal Code reflects Hale rather than Blackstone.

It is time to bring about law reform so children receive the protection of the law extended to adults so they will be equal before the law.

I suggest that we look at the New Zealand version of the defence that permits physical contact with a child to protect the child from things like harm, damage or antisocial behavior. It in no way allows or condones violence against children.

I also suggest that as New Zealand has done this successfully for 3.5 years, Australians may now be ready for this law reform.

It is a breach of the human rights of a child to consider that hitting needs to be part of discipline, when there is so much research to refute opinion and received wisdom that such abuse does not harm children.