Other nanny states with an eye on New Zealand’s anti-smacking law now have referendum results to inform them how popular it is to outlaw the use of smack for the purpose of correcting a child.

Only 54 per cent of the electorate voted, indicating that smacking is not a burning issue for half the population. But of those who did vote, barely 12 per cent were in favour of the ban and nearly 88 percent against it.

But Prime Minister John Key, who voted for the Green Party law in 2007 after a compromise clause gave police discretion not to prosecute cases of “inconsequential” force against children, says there is no need to dump it. He is asking for reports on how it is being implemented and promising guidelines that would ensure parents were not fully investigated by child welfare agencies or prosecuted by the police for light smacking.

The fact remains that there is a law on the books in New Zealand that forbids the use of a smack, whether light or otherwise, precisely for the purpose of correcting a child. And more than 1.4 million people, or nearly half the electorate, do not agree with that.