Family First’s call comes in response to the concerns expressed by Papamoa Beach residents who are opposing a nudist event in their area this weekend.

 “Families are rightly concerned that they and their children may be confronted by full nudity in a public place,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “Freedom of expression must never be at the expense of the right to protect children and families from offensive and inappropriate behaviour. We would not allow nudists to expose themselves in shopping centres or outside schools. Doing it on the beach where there are families is no different.”

Kapiti Coast District Council passed a Beach Bylaw in 2009 containing a clause “No person shall remain upon any part of the beach in deliberate view of others in such a state of undress as to cause offence.”

“Families don’t want their children being confronted by naked men and women. The rights of nudists to ‘hang loose’ should not be at the expense of families feeling embarrassed or offended. It is completely inappropriate for children to be confronted with naked adults wandering past them or sunbathing. It is not for families to ‘get out of the way’. The nudists should simply cover up.”

Family First is also calling on the government to amend the Crimes Act and Summary Offences Act so that the precedent to allow public nudity, set in past cases by liberal judges on events such as the ‘Boobs on Bikes’, can be overturned.

“There’s a place for nudity, but it is certainly not on our main streets or beaches which families and children use,” says Mr McCoskrie.

ENDS

Bob McCoskrie – National Director Family First NZ

www.familyfirst.org.nz

Family First NZ states:

TEENS REJECT ‘SAFE SEX’ EDUCATION

SUPPORT PARENTAL NOTIFICATION AND ‘RIGHT TO LIFE’

A nationwide poll of 600 young people aged 15-21 poll has found that they hold conservative values on sex issues – which are significantly similar to the views of parents.

 SEX EDUCATION

When asked “Do you think sex education in schools should teach values, abstinence and consequences such as pregnancy, or just teach safe sex?” only 19% supported just the ‘safe sex’ message currently being taught in schools, with one in three (34%) wanting ‘values, abstinence, and consequences such as pregnancy’ taught instead, and a further 42% asking for a combination of both – especially amongst older teens. The support for just the ‘safe sex’ message dropped even lower for the older teens.

 “This is a direct rebuke from young people to the ‘use a condom’ and ‘everyone’s doing it’ messages being pushed by groups like Family Planning, AIDS Foundation and Rainbow Youth,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

 “Many parents were rightly horrified last year when details of what was being taught in schools under the guise of ‘sex education’ surfaced. Judging by the results of the current approach – which is a good place to start – sex education has been an utter failure. New Zealand has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the OECD, our STD rates are out of control and the number of teenage girls having abortions continues to rise.”

 “For those youth who are sexually active, they are not being told the truth. Groups like the Family Planning Association and the AIDS Foundation are perpetuating the myth that as long as you use a condom, you can pretty well do what you like in terms of promiscuity, experimentation, and fringe behaviours – with little or no information on the physical or emotional ramifications or prevention of disease.”

In one example, a mixed class of boys and girls were asked by the AIDS Foundation if they had masturbated lately and were given condoms and strawberry-flavoured lubricant. They were also given a leaflet featuring graphic pictures, terms including “cock” and “wank”, and advice on the best condoms. Reports last year highlighted that children as young as 12 are being taught about oral sex and told it’s acceptable to play with a girl’s private parts as long as “she’s okay with it”. In other cases, 14-year-old girls are being taught how to put condoms on plastic penises, and one female teacher imitated the noises she made during orgasm to her class of 15-year-olds. One concerned father took his 12-year-old son out of a sex education class at his all-boy school after he came home upset about what had happened during one of the lessons. It included a question-and-answer session that focused on, “I have learned that my girlfriend has a thing called a clitoris. I really want to play with it. Is that okay?” The answer was: “Yes, if you ask her and she’s okay with it.”

 A poll of parents in 2010 found that three out of four parents of young children want the abstinence message taught in sex education – with 69% of kiwis overall supporting the ‘wait’ message.

 PARENTAL NOTIFICATION

When asked “Provided it won’t put the girl in physical danger, should parents be told if their school-age daughter is pregnant and considering getting an abortion?” 59% of young respondents thought the parents should be told. 34% disagreed. More young men than women agreed, but both had majority agreement.

 “It is significant that even young people can see the importance of having parents informed and involved, even when they know that those same parents will be rightly disappointed and upset. This is a very strong response from young people, and is a rebuke to the politicians in 2004 who chose to exclude parents from this process when debating the provision in the Care of Children Bill,” says Mr McCoskrie.

 According to the Care of Children Act 2004, access to abortion is not restricted on grounds of age. Section 38 of the Act says that a girl of any age can give consent to an abortion and that consent operates as if it were given by her parents. Therefore, her parents need never know that their daughter is having such a procedure. Family First is aware of young girls being written to directly asking them to make an appointment to have the Gardasil vaccine.

 “This all effectively means that while a parent has to sign a letter for their daughter to go on a school trip to the zoo or to play in the netball team, they are totally excluded from any knowledge or granting of permission for that same child to be put on the pill, have a vaccine, or have a surgical abortion,” says Mr McCoskrie.

 When parents were asked a similar question in a 2010 poll, 79% responded yes – only 12% said no.

 Family First is asking for the law to be amended to allow for parental notification in all cases of medical advice, prescriptions and procedures unless it can be proved to a family court that it would place the child at extreme risk.

 “Parental notification laws in Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, and other US states have seen a drop in both the pregnancy rate and the teen abortion rate – a win-win situation for all concerned. This is especially relevant when almost 80 teenagers a week have an abortion in NZ,” says Mr McCoskrie.

 UNBORN CHILD’S RIGHT TO LIFE

When asked “Do you believe an unborn child or foetus has a right to be born?” 56% of youth respondents said they believed an unborn child or foetus has a right to be born. Slightly more young women than young men agreed – 58% to 55%. Those aged 15 to 17 were strongest in support – 66%.

 “This is a pleasantly pro-life view from our young people. A decision from the Court of Appeal last June that the law does not recognize or confer a right to life on the unborn child sends a dangerous message, and should make NZ’ers feel very queasy,” says Mr McCoskrie.

 “The message that an unborn child has absolutely no rights is completely inconsistent with warning messages about prenatal alcohol and drug use, recognising the unborn child as a victim with respect to violent crimes on pregnant women, and even the report released by Sir Peter Gluckman referring to ‘environmental risks that occur prenatally’.

 “On the one hand we are imploring pregnant women to live a healthy lifestyle to enhance the wellbeing of their unborn child, yet on the other hand the courts are telling us that the child has no right to life. That’s a contradictory message that shows a complete disregard for the most vulnerable. Just when does a child obtain the right to live? 30 weeks? 40 weeks? In the birthing room? At the first Plunket visit?” asks Mr McCoskrie.

Family First is calling for a law change that gives an unborn child the same human rights as any other human being.

 “Teenagers are right to say that we should not allow discrimination against our most vulnerable.”

 The Curia Market Research poll surveyed 600 15-21 year olds nationwide. The poll was conducted between 4 and 6 December 2011 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.1%.

ENDS

FULL POLL RESULTS CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.familyfirst.co.nz

Bob McCoskrie – National Director, Family First NZ

See Sunday Star Times coverage of Family First media release:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/6226549/Conservative-young-cautious-on-sex-education

Joy To The World (Lyrics)

 Joy to the world the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King:

Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,

 And heav’n and nature sing,

And heav’n and nature sing,

 And heav’n and nature sing .

                       +++++++

Joy to the world, the Saviour reigns!

Let men their songs employ:

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy.

                      +++++++

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love

                    +++++++++++

The words and lyrics of this much loved old Christmas carol “Joy to the World” were written in 1719 by Isaac Watts, an ordained Christian pastor.

 Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748), is recognised as the “Father of English Hymnody”, as he was the first prolific and popular English hymnwriter, credited with some 750 hymns. Many of his hymns remain in active use today and have been translated into many languages.

Besides being a famous hymn-writer, Isaac Watts was also a renowned theologian and logician, writing many books and essays on these subjects. Watts was the author of a text book on logic which was particularly popular; its full title was, Logic, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as well as in the Sciences. This was first published in 1724, and its popularity ensured that it went through twenty editions.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts

What better way to fulfill our Society’s charitable aims of “promoting moral and spiritual welfare” among this sector of society, than to supply a high quality and easy-to-read book to each of our 8,800 prisoners: one that promotes spiritual and moral values! During the year our Society has been helping get a copy of The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan – in a modern English version – to every prisoner. Already over 800 have been distributed with the help of the NZ Prison Chaplaincy Services. This book is arguably the most published book in the world – second only to the Bible and is acclaimed by some reputable scholars as “the greatest allegory ever written” (see www.pilgrimsprogress.co.nz ).

Our involvement in this project has come about in part as a result of research the Society has carried out into the needs of prisoners in the area of literacy and rehabilitation. A number of our members have been involved for many years in prison ministry and are still actively involved.

The Society’s objectives (see www.spcs.org.nz ) include:

“To encourage self-respect and the dignity of the human person made in the image of God” and promote “wholesome personal values as the foundation for stable communities”.(extract from SPCS Constitution available in full on line at www.charities.govt.nz & www.societies.govt.nz). See Mattew 25: 36-40.

View the brochure below if you wish to financially support the project

An essay by Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and editorial board member of Public Discourse

This essay, published 17 October 2011,  is adapted from remarks he delivered earlier this month at a conference honoring John Finnis at the University of Notre Dame.

Copyright 2011 The Witherspoon Institute – PUBLIC DISCOURSE – Ethics, Law and the Common Good.

Quote:

“….the familiar depiction of the debate over pornography regulation as pitting the “rights of individuals,” on the one side, against some amorphous “majority’s dislike of smut,” on the other, is false to the facts. The public interest in a cultural structure—in which, as Dworkin says, “sexual experience has dignity and beauty”—is the concrete interest of individuals and families who constitute “the public.” The obligations of others to respect their interests, and of governments to respect and protect them, is a matter of justice.”

For fulll essaygo to: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/10/3958

In a media release issued  on 10 December 2011, Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission, states:

Family First  is rejecting claims by the Children’s Commissioner and others that rising child abuse statistics are ‘good news’ and ‘delightful’, and is repeating its call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into child abuse as a result of continuing ‘tragic’ figures. 

“It is time we stopped ‘marketing’ child abuse statistics and trying to give them a positive spin, under the illusion that we are succeeding. We need a reality check,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

 “The rates of child abuse have been rocketing up for the last decade – even before the flawed anti-smacking law was passed and the Family Violence awareness campaign began. Between 2003 and 2007 alone, notifications more than doubled from 31,000 to 72,000. The latest statistics give no confidence that children are any safer.”

 “To label our atrocious statistics as ‘good news’ and ‘delightful’ is an insult to the victims. Government groups cannot attribute the increase to greater awareness and better practice. The rates have been increasing markedly well before the public awareness campaigns, and the increase in admissions to Starship Hospital alone are proof that the problem is deterioriating.”

 “Alcohol and drug abuse are rampant in dysfunctional homes, family breakdown is a festering sore, and there is increasing violence in our culture. These are all signs that things will get worse before they get better.”

 “We have had Commission of Inquiries this year into the Pike river tragedy, the collapse of buildings and consequent loss of life in the Christchurch earthquake – yet no inquiry into one of the greatest social problems facing the country.”  

 “There seems to be no political party who is willing to front up to this issue on the scale required. Since the passing of the anti-smacking law, there have been at least 31 child abuse deaths. The rate continues unabated.”

 “The ongoing rates of child abuse are a wake-up call that children will never be safe until we are honest enough as a country to identify and tackle the real causes of child abuse. An independent Inquiry free of political correctness and point-scoring is essential. We need long-term solutions to a problem that has existed for far too long,” says Mr McCoskrie.

ENDS

See: www.familyfirst.org.nz

The Society’s Web blog aims to stimulate rational reflection on, and reasoned appraisal of, a wide rage of issues affecting families and society. Since human opinion is always corrigible and meaningful assertions imply conditions under which they may be falsified, the web blog opinion piece articles are written in the belief that truth is ultimately independent of opinion. The opinions and views expressed in such web log articles do not necessarily wholly reflect the Society’s stance. They are simply deemed to be worth publishing for readers to consider, evaluate, respond to, etc. A careful effort is made to ensure that no article is published that promotes or defends any viewpoint that is contrary to, or might undermine or negate, our Society’s objectives.

Copied from www.spcs.org.nz/activities/

The Society’s objectives have been registered with the Registrar of Societies. See www.societies.govt.nz (Inc. Soc. No. 217833. Incorporated 26/09/07) or viewed at www.spcs.org.nz/objectives/

SPCS notes that the Green Party produced a brochure last year that they distributed to the public that presents what they believe is wrong with the Search and Surveillance Bill. Details were published on their website at the time –  www.greens.org.nz/searchandsurveillance

The Greens are rightly concerned that the bill gives, for the first time so they claim, the power to use force, including the power to detain people, to a number of enforcement agencies that have never had such power(s) in the past.  Such agencies they claim, include the Department of Internal Affairs – whose Censorship Compliance Unit is responsible for tracking down, gathering evidence, and assisting in the prosecution of paedophiles who trade objectionable publications over the internet.

In addition the Unit carries out the same functions with respect to hardcore pornographers, who hoard and distribute unclassified imported DVDs filled with objectionable content that degrades, demeans and dehumanises women.

It should be obvious that DIA enforcement agents must be granted the increased powers contained in this bill to be able to inspect, carry out surveillance on, apprehend and bring to justice, offenders auch as paedophiles and distributors of hardcore pornographers who break the law and do untold injury to the public good. 

Of course search warrants would need to be obtained prior to raids on the premises of such offenders and appropriate authorisation obtained for carrying out surveillance on such persons. Section 198 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, sets outs the statement that must be signed by a District Court Judge, or Justice of the Peace, or Community Magistrate or Registrar, authorising a constable to carry out a search.

The Greens raise a number of other concerns about the use of  ’examination orders’ whereby authorities under the bill are authorised to ‘force’ suspected parties to the offence(s) to provide incriminating information about their friend(s), or else they face a year in prison.

One wonders whether the ‘wall of silence’ maintained steadfastly for years by the Kahui twins’ whanau to protect the perpetrator of their alleged murders, is a “right” that the Greens want to defend too!

Do the friends of paedophiles and pornographers who are party to the alleged crimes they commit and/or have knowledge about them that could assist authorities, have a “right” to remain slient? The Society contends that they should not, while the Greens probably, to be consistent, probably say “yes”.

For more see:

SPCS opinion piece published 21 November 2010

http://www.spcs.org.nz/2010/search-and-surveillance-bill-is-our-privacy-under-threat/

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirmed today it has laid 21 charges in the Timaru District Court against five people involved in the company’s affairs.

It wouldn’t name the individuals involved until the charges are heard before the court and any issues regarding suppression have been fully dealt with.

SFO boss Adam Feeley confirmed the total estimated value of the allegedly fraudulent transactions was about $1.7 billion, which includes an esimated $1.59 billion from entering the Crown Retail Deposits Guarantee Scheme.

South Canterbury collapsed in August 2010, eventually triggering a $1.7 billion taxpayer payout.

“The collapse of SCF was one the most significant of all the failed finance companies. The value of the fraud alleged to have been committed exceeds anything in the history of white-collar crime in New Zealand, and the time we have taken to complete this matter is a reflection of that scale,” Feeley said.

 The SFO spent 14 months investigating the company and the charges it has laid cover a variety of offences, including theft by a person in a special relationship; obtaining by deception; false statements by the promoter of a company; and false accounting.  The offences carry maximum penalties of between seven and ten years imprisonment.

“It is not appropriate at this point to comment on details of the allegations, but the investigation itself has been one of the most resource-intensive and time-consuming in recent history,” Feeley said.

For more see: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6101880/SFO-charges-five-in-South-Canterbury-Finance-probe  Story by Fiona Rotherham. Published 7 December 2011

Residents’ Action Gets Remuera Brothel Booted Out

Family First NZ is welcoming news that the residents in Remuera’s Ascot Ave near the Prime Minister’s residence have succeeded in getting rid of a residential brothel through community pressure. 

“It is disappointing that politicians have foisted a flawed prostitution law on families with the result of brothels setting up right next door to family homes – yet it has to take the determination and persistence of families to try and remedy this unacceptable situation,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. 

“We have huge sympathy for the families in this neighbourhood – but they are not the first, and won’t be the last to be harmed until the politicians admit they made a mistake.” “Accounts of home brothels where men willing to pay for sex are knocking on nearby homes trying to find the brothel, and concerns about noise, traffic, and late-night visits experienced by residents is unfortunately nothing new to many residential streets around New Zealand experiencing having a brothel in their residential street.” 

“It is a national disgrace that we are exposing our children and families to that level of risk.” 

“The opposition to residential brothels in places such as Remuera, Greenlane, Albany, North Shore, Mt Victoria in Wellington, Christchurch, opposite a school in Henderson, attempts by Manukau City Council to tackle the problems of street prostitution in Papatoetoe and Manurewa, and opposition to the brothel in the main street of Dannevirke and Invercargill all show that communities are not accepting the liberalised and harmful laws.” 

“The decriminalisation of prostitution has been a community disaster harming families, businesses, and the welfare of workers caught in the industry. Cities throughout NZ have been trying to deal with the ‘hospital pass’ given by the politicians when they passed this law,” says Mr McCoskrie.

 “Rather than families having to battle this alone, they should have the support of laws that work and that protect them. It’s time the politicians delivered that law.”

ENDS