NZ Herald 21 July 09
(Simon Barnett and Robyn Malcolm) have lined up as rival celebrities for the \”No\” and \”Yes\” votes in next month\’s referendum on the question, \”Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?\” On the Vote No website, Barnett fronts a video saying, \”Kiwi parents know the difference between a light smack and child abuse.\” But at the Auckland Town Hall yesterday, Malcolm filmed a statement of support for the \”anti-smacking\” law with former TV One newsreader Judy Bailey, Kidzone host Kayne Peters, author Brian Edwards and others. \”I\’m supporting this because I believe that any type of violence towards children is completely unacceptable,\” she said. 
Barnett has smacked his four daughters \”on the odd occasion\” and resents being labelled a child abuser. He and wife Jodi decided early on to use a smack \”as a consequence for certain behaviour\” until each child turned 10. \”My wife and I would always say, \’I\’m going to count to three, and if Dad gets to three then there\’s a consequence\’,\” Barnett said. \”It might not be a smack. It might be timeout. It might be missing out on the $1 bag of lollies that we get for each of them when we watch a family movie on TV on Saturday night.\” But it was a smack, for example, when one daughter aged 6 ran across the road when a car was coming. \”But I didn\’t smack her in anger,\” Barnett said. \”I told her, \’We\’ve told you so many times not to cross the road by yourself,\’ and I smacked her on the hand. She\’s never done it again.\”
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