Smacking lobby offer rejected

The Government has rejected a conditional offer from the promoters of the smacking referendum that would have enabled the unpopular ballot to be called off.

Kiwi Party leader Larry Baldock wrote to Prime Minister John Key offering to call off the $9 million referendum, which asks: "Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?"

Referendum instigator Sheryl Savill is the only person who can call off the referendum, and it must be done by Friday, before Governor-General Anand Satyanand gives assent for the ballot.

Baldock said Savill would do so, but only if the law was amended to again allow reasonable force for the purposes of correction.

Key said he would not agree to such a deal, and even if he did he could not guarantee Parliament would back it. "If it wasn't whipped [a party vote], I can't be sure that all National members would vote for a law change," he said.

"ACT members might, I strongly suggest that the Greens wouldn't, that the Maori Party wouldn't, Labour almost certainly wouldn't, United Future wouldn't, so I'm not sure that the numbers would be there."

Key said the Government's position remained that the law would not be changed unless there was evidence it was not working.

"We shouldn't be under any illusions if we were to change the law, it would be quite a fierce campaign. It would arguably derail the public and Parliament for the next 18 months.

"We're in the middle of a recession, and we're focused on trying to deliver jobs for New Zealanders and economic change."

- © Fairfax NZ News