New Zealand, Sweden and the Johanssons | Home Education Foundation

I am really concerned about this question asked in Parliament today:

METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: When he said “we don’t want to see any New Zealand child suffer … children don’t get to make choices, they’re often the victim of circumstance” does that mean he will take tangible steps to ensure children don’t suffer because of circumstances beyond their control? http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/2/f/3/00HOH_OralQuestions-List-of-questions-for-oral-answer.htm

In Sweden, yesterday 10 December 2012 – International Human Rights Day, the case for Domenic Johansson did not go well. For background information please refer to the related links below.

The Swedish authorities want to take Domenic take from his parents, who love him dearly and only want the best for him, and let his foster parents adopt him because they think that Domenic was a “Victim of circumstances” He was being home schooled, missed some vaccinations and he had cavities in his teeth. For this Domenic’s parents have not been able to see him for over 2 years and the contact before that for over a year was seldom. The authorities did all they could to keep Domenic and his parents separated. This is what Ruby Harrold-Claesson, the Johansson’s lawyer said “The 3 day court hearing was to decide on the legal guardianship of Domenic, i e a kind of forced adoption, and the hearing took place in the Svea Court of Appeal, i e the civil court system.” The hearing went against the Johanssons: Parents lost Domenic

Is this what New Zealand is heading for.

With the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill wanting to make ECE compulsory for beneficiaries from age 3 and for Mothers to be working 15 hours a week from the time their youngest is 5 and 30 hours a week once their youngest is 14, and all the emphasis on poverty and vulnerable children – it would seem so. The push to make changes to Section 59 were also very similar to the moves Sweden made in the same direction.

Sweden looks like an Utopia with Sweden being “materially rich with a wealth of public social insurances and good wealth distribution and low child poverty”. But in reality accordinging to Jonas Himmelstrand “The use of highly subsidized early day care has steadily increased since its inception in 1985. The Swedish Government claims that research shows that children in day care develop and learn much better than home cared children. But the Swedish statistics tell another story. Psychosomatic symptoms such as regular headaches, tummy aches, worries and anxiety tripled for girls and doubled for boys during the years 1985-2005. A Government investigation quoted a study showing that Sweden has the worst development in psychological health among our youth in relation to eleven comparable European countries. The school results went down during the same period and are now, in some scholastic subjects, below the OECD average. The quality of parenthood has deteriorated, and adult sick leave is high, especially for women.” Read more about Sweden here: About Early Child Care in Sweden

For those parents, like the Johanssons and the Himmelstrands, there have been real consequences for going against the authourities in Sweden.

Will this be the same in New Zealand? There are many in authority, like Paula Bennett, who do not understand Home Education at all. They think that children do best in an ECE and in Schools. Will they see our children fitting in this “we don’t want to see any New Zealand child suffer … children don’t get to make choices, they’re often the victim of circumstance” does that mean he will take tangible steps to ensure children don’t suffer because of circumstances beyond their control?”

Domenic was not asked if he wanted to be seperated from his parents – he was wrenched from them at the airport. Will our children be asked if they want to be seperated from us so that the authorities can do what they think is best for them? I don’t think so.

Please continue to fight this Social Security Bill by writing/ringing/visiting the Social Select Committee members.

More here:

Contacting the Select Committee (How to make supplementary submissions if you put in an original written submission.)

International Human Rights Day 10 December 2012

UPDATE: Answer to above question here: John Key: Let us target and focus more on those who are in need.

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Related links to Johanssons:

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Related Links to Social Security Bill: