Welcome to The Port Hills Electorate... Conservatively speaking...
This is my first post, so I will state here and now, from the outset... I am NOT the current Conservative party Candidate for the Port Hills Electorate, due to unforeseen circumstances involving the limited time available prior to the latest elections. However I do aspire to represent the Conservative Party of New Zealand in this, my home Electorate for the next elections.
My philosophy towards government is relatively simple and takes it's main direction from a speech given by Abraham Lincoln during the Gettysburg Address... in that, "Government should be, Of the People, By the People and most importantly FOR the People". As far as my interpretation of this statement goes, this means that the "Will of the People" should govern the Nation... If we "The People" want or don't want particular legislation bought into law... then we have the INNATE right to BE LISTENED TOO.
We should not need to hold public marches, to protest a piece of legislation that is un-wanted by 80%+ of the PEOPLE, most definitely when the 80% had made their opinion apparent PRIOR to the legislation becoming enacted. I mean to LISTEN! I am talking here of course about the colloquially termed "Anti-Smacking law", in which I personally know 2 families from this electorate, that have been destroyed due to false accusations and un-warranted investigations.
Subsequently, the investigations have proven the 2 families innocent of any wrongdoing, however the associated stress of losing... yes you have read correctly... LOSING... the children during certain phases of the investigation, and the treatment and stigma handed out by the several investigative branches involved, Courts, Police, CYPS etc. have forever broken these families.
I recently viewed some statistics online (prior to the 2011 elections) that cited some Court/Police figures. At the time the figures stated some 400 arrests/investigations having been conducted under the "Re-Written" law, with 2... yes ONLY 2 prosecutions resulting, it was further alluded to that both prosecutions would have more than likely been upheld under the previous iteration of the "Anti-Smacking Law".
As a caring Humanitarion one wonders what support was offered to the OTHER 398 UN-Prosecuted but ACCUSED families... A BIG FAT ZERO! lose your children for several days, have other parents told some "reasons", associated stigma and not so much as an apology???
ANY Law which is UNJUST, should NOT be a LAW.
Conservatively Yours,
James West.
