Following an unsuccessful referendum to restore a criminal defence for physically disciplining children, ex-Craccum writer Joe Nunweek goes undercover with the only men brave enough to resurrect the golden age of parenting.

Murray Pedersen is crouched behind Aisle 12, between the clearance condiments and a new brand of toiletries. His combat fatigues and and the military greasepaint smeared over the ex-serviceman’s lips, nose and ears are an incongruous sight in the Lynfield Countdown. It’s a Saturday morning – the milieu is less gruelling training than it is a weary domestic bliss. Young families wheel younger charges amongst ziggurats of sale goods, and the babble of children’s voices mills over the rows of shelves. It’s bustling but hardly a nightmare. Yet, here I am, dressed in an old motorcycle helmet and khakis Pedersen lent me, hidden with half a dozen members of the secretive organisation only known as Section 59. Read the rest of this entry »