National associate welfare spokeswoman Anne Tolley says Child Youth and Family needs to lift its act after a report two social workers quit alleging "gross professional incompetence" in the organisation.

The Weekend Herald reported that two British social workers quit in protest.

The two men were recruited by CYF last year and resigned in protest at the "unethical practices".

Manurewa social worker Jonny Ward, 35, wrote to CYF Minister Ruth Dyson and has been invited to meet her and officials. The other social worker did not want to be named.

Mr Ward gave an example where he assisted another social worker, eight police and two dog handlers remove children from a family. He said the other social worker tried to stop the mother cuddling her son who was upset. The children were not told in advance they would be taken to their grandmother.

"We could have spoken to the grandmother beforehand and told the children, `It's okay, you know your grandmother'. Instead we had them in the back of the car, all three of them crying because they didn't know where I was taking them."

Social workers in Britain tried to get parental consent to removal and at least prepare the children to leave.

The Ministry of Social Development official in charge of CYF, Ray Smith, said local practice placed more emphasis than Britain on keeping children within the extended family, which could mean searching for family members if children had to be removed in an emergency.

Mrs Tolley said the story reflected other accounts she had heard and CYFS had failed to fulfil the Government's promise of a competent, safe service where poor social work would not be tolerated.

Figures to the end of October showed 30 percent of social workers were registered.

"This is clearly about more than just two social workers," she said.

"The minister should take what these British social workers have to say seriously."

In answer to Mrs Tolley's questions about registration Ms Dyson said by the end of October 383 of 1283 permanent CYFS social workers were registered.

During a select committee hearing last year Ms Dyson defended the low number of registrations.

"The Social Workers Registration Act came into effect in April 2003 and you couldn't apply to be registered until 1 October 2004 so having 411 staff registered as at 31 August, in less than two years, is in fact a major achievement for CYF," she said.

"Child, Youth and Family is committed to having its social work staff gain social work registration as part of its ongoing support for professionalisation of its workforce."

The British social workers' comments follow controversy over a website set up to name and shame CYFS workers people believed failed and bullied them.

A spokeswoman for Ms Dyson referred calls to Mr Smith.

Copyright: NZPA 2007

A website that carried a posting by someone who said they wanted to beat up Green Party MP Sue Bradford has been closed.

It was unclear if it the closure of the Cyfswatch website was permanent.

Meanwhile, police have told NZPA that the comments made on the site did not break any laws.

Police diplomatic protection squad Sergeant Ron Lek told NZPA that the posting was written in such a way it skirted breaking the law.

The posting raised the prospect of assassinating the MP, who has a member's bill before Parliament to remove the right of parents to smack children to correct them.

The legislation takes away the defence of reasonable force against assault of a child under Section 59 of the Crimes Act.

The author says they would like to punch Ms Bradford and break her nose and gave a graphic account about other injuries that would be inflicted.

"We've had legal advice to say basically no criminal offence has been committed as yet," Mr Lek said.

"But we're obviously concerned as far as the implications in the blog goes."

Mr Lek said it was not legal to make threats.

"But the way it was worded it was not a direct threat as such. It's couched in a way it -- possibly cleverly or by pure luck -- that the person doesn't commit an offence."

Mr Lek said police would try find out who was behind the posting.

When asked if security for Ms Bradford had been increased Mr Lek said the DPS do not comment on individual security matters.

Ms Bradford told reporters she was alarmed at the posting which "details a graphic physical assault on me and asks people to send in my home address".

"I've referred it to the police here at Parliament and I'm quite concerned about my physical safety at this time."

The website also said it would publish Ms Bradford's residential address if it was supplied.

The anonymous posting suggests Ms Bradford should be killed.

"Bradford is a worthy candidate for NZ's first political assassination -- I only wish I had the resources to do it."

The website was set up to criticise Child, Youth and Family Services (CYF) and caused controversy with a "name-and-shame" blog which provided personal information about individual social workers.

Google ordered it to remove some posts that were not compliant with its terms of service.

Ms Bradford said she hoped her address was not in the public domain and she would consider getting protection.

"I've asked my secretary to go straight to the Parliamentary police to let them know that I am worried now. I wasn't before," she said.

"There have been occasional threats in the past but the fact they are trying to track down my address at the same time as describing a graphic and quite horrible assault on me is distressing at this time in the Parliamentary debate."

She said the incident reflected the campaign some of her opponents had whipped up around the debate.

"Some of the parents who want to defend the parents right to hit their kids seem quite fanatical and I think this threat against me is the latest manifestation."

Ms Bradford's bill passed its second reading last night, to move one step closer to becoming law.

Ms Bradford said she hoped the site had been closed permanently. She had been contacted by other people abused on the site.

"They're saying to me `now you understand how bad it is'," she told NZPA.

"If that website could be closed down, that would be fantastic. It isn't just about me."

Ms Bradford said she was not getting special security at this stage.

"I'm hoping that the emotions that have been aroused will calm down as they realise that the democratic processes of this country need to take place and threatening to kill people is really anathema to democracy." from here

I think Ms Bradshaw is a raving lunatic, her anti smacking bill wont make one flipping iota of difference to the idiots who go to far and end up bashing their children to death,. What it will make a difference to to decent parents who use a smack as a last resort to disipline their children, they will be the ones taken to task. Parents wont even be able to use it as a means to disiplne their children now.

That said I do think CYFSwatch went to far with the last post they made...... Threats of violence to deal with a mad cow like Bradshaw dont work, and sympathy ends up being wrongly misplaced.