To Alan and the Whining Noisy Media activists (Certainly not reporters) of the tiny Minority (15% or less by all accounts) that reject children being accountable for being Bad.

It's no suprise that the only people squarking about Grammar and referendum costs and anything but the real issue of weather parents should be able to smack their kids bottoms (yes that was not spelt B-E-A-T) are the people who are a part of that tiny deafening minority that have been wagging the dog for the past decade with ludicous nonsense. This group that are a subset of the 15% as verified by poll after poll after poll before the law and after the law, who defy common-sense and the democratic vast majority and are yet again trying to change the rules of the game rather than to look at the issue at the centre of things. (Were you able to follow that long sentence with a sub topic sandwiched in the middle? It was a do you support smacking IQ test. If you were able to understand it and don't support smacking you are a liar or an extreme statistical oddity.) Such people who can't understand the referendum question are an embarrasment to their cause. It is not hard to understand at all unless your IQ is at the level of Sue Bradford whose very original Amendment to section 59 had a name that was gramatically and logical nonsense.

Such people are limited to four or five word sentences mostly or else they fall to pieces and the only content required in their sentences is emotional trigger words and cliched codswollup like 'Vitriol' and 'diatribe' and other such excuses for not having an argument to back their left wing, liberal, bleeding heart, society destroying, nonsense.

Sadly the media organisations are packed with such one eyed activists that can't see the societal garden they are trampling down for the weed they are trying to pull with their blunt media bludgeon on the far side of it.

It is as simple as Yes or No Alan and you are clearly much to simple to comprehend that. Over look the Good word and realise it is very simple a vote for or against the rape of Democracy commited by the Helen and Sue team. NO sound research backs a word Sue said and vast quanities were verified lies.

I intend to send $5 at least with my Ballot and encourage any others to who spport democracy to pay for the right to democracy that folk like you hate. I will openly volunteer $1000 to support the costs of democracy. For you who want to vote against smacking and I who want to vote for it. The only reason that all of a sudden Referendums have become evil and wording has become a problem is because your minority fear the vast majority and the truth of it will be verified...Or else the poor wording would work in your corrupt favour completely. And if the Government are committed to defy the people it is not time to wimp off and ball lessly cower under Corruption it is time to Turf them out of parliament by force of an uprising for they are illegitimate.

In answer to the needlessly inflammatory "John", there are two powerful reasons not to vote. One, as the editorial observes, is the fact that the government has already committed itself to ignoring whatever the voting public chooses to say.

The second is a point on which I disagree with the editorial, which gives the impression that the question being asked is a clear-cut case of "if you approve of the current law, vote yes; otherwise vote no". In fact the question is just plain incomprehensible, as it requires a very specific set of presuppositions (smacking is a part of "good parental correction") before the question can even be thought about.

Not only is it reasonable not to vote because it's pointless; I regard it as obligatory not to vote, because neither answer ("yes" nor "no") makes any sense.

John - what do all you parents who "live in fear of losing their children" do to their kids that make them so fearful. This underlying presumption that smacking is not just necessary, but a natural right of parents, is baffling for those of us who don't smack their kids "for good parental correction", have smacked them occasionally as a result of "poor adult impulse control" when angry or frustrated, know we were wrong and have no fear whatwoever that such incidents will end in the courts. Get real, here.

You tree hugging hippie. Parents living in fear of losing their children if they smack them is not a non issue to more than 3 million New Zealanders. Since when was democracy a non issue? Since when did 80% of the people not be enough to rule? Why should 20% of the population tell the other 80% what to do. I am utterly disgusted at our 2 leading politicians for saying they will not vote.