Did you know that in New Zealand a ten-year-old can be found guilty of murder?

This fact should offend all right-thinking people. Yes, as soon as you turn ten you can be done for a crime, while if you’re nine-and-a half you just walk away scot-free.

This explosion of youth crime is down to one thing: the sense of impunity that children have. The knowledge that the authorities can do nothing to stop them.

It’s complete madness that we have allowed this to happen. How can we ask our young people to behave themselves, when during the very earliest period of their lives, when they are at their most impressionable, they can literally get away with murder? What message are we sending to our children? I’ll tell you. It’s “oh, little Johnny, don’t be sad, it’s okay that you gunned down all those people in the crowded cinema with your AR-15. There there, have another lollypop.”

That’s why the age of criminal responsibility in this country must drop.

I’m in favour of removing the age limit altogether. Abolish it. Age should not be an excuse for terrible behaviour. If you do the crime you must do the time. Period. No excuses.  

But I know that probably won’t fly. We have been conditioned by the so-called experts to believe that the very young simply don’t have the mental faculties to understand the difference between right and wrong. I don’t agree with these people. Even as a baby at my mother’s breast I knew it was wrong to ram-raid a shopping mall. I didn’t need to go to primary school to know that incitement to mutiny was a criminal offence punishable by up to ten years in prison. No, these kids know exactly what they’re doing. And the academics, social workers and other wokesters are just playing into their hands. Naughty babies should feel the full wrath of the law. Otherwise how will they ever learn?

But if despite all of this we have to have an age limit, let’s at least be sensible about it. Let’s set the age of criminal responsibility to two years old.

Let’s stick it to those sneering toddlers who think their atrocious behaviour will have no ill consequences. They will soon learn that pinching, biting, smacking and throwing things have real world consequences. A solid five-year stretch in Paremoremo will soon see an attitude adjustment.

And don’t listen to the folk who will tell you that lowering the age of responsibility would cause misery and harm. The law doesn’t have to be a blunt instrument, and not every bit of childhood mischief would have to come before the courts. We can write appropriate exceptions into the law, for example to cover harmless boarding school japes.

But I fear that any law reform will almost certainly require a change of government. Labour appears to have sided with the young thugs and seems to show no interest in changing the law. The National Party leader has at least talked about the need to crack down on young offenders. And rightly so, given that there was no youth crime when National were last in power. He can also draw upon the wisdom of youth crime experts within his own caucus. So I am hopeful that Christopher Luxon will support this campaign.

Please join my Make it Two campaign. Sign the petition, donate to the cause, and make those naughty children pay!