The results are in: New Zealand voters overwhelmingly back smacking as part of good parental correction, and do not believe it should be made a criminal offense. So the debate over corporal punishment will continue for the foreseeable future, though Prime Minister John Key of the center-right National Party recently stated,
"My view is the law is working as was intended but I think the very strong message that comes through from this referendum is that New Zealand parents don't want to see themselves or their neighbours or anybody else criminalised for lightly smacking a child."
Key made known his distaste for the wording of the referendum from the start, and many "Yes" supporters said the question was leading, accounting for the lopsided result of the vote. So decide for yourself,
Once again, the question, as posed by main-in ballot:
Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?
And the result:
Yes------------201 541------------11.98%
No-----------1 470 755-----------87.40%
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