for a backbench MP to pass a single member's bill, let alone three. In 2009 Sue Bradford ran unsuccessfully against Metiria Turei to replace Jeanette Fitzsimons for the co-leadership of the Green Party. On 25 September 2009, Bradford announced her intention to resign as a Member of Parliament in late October, citing her disappointment at the loss and wish to take new directions. Bradford regretted not becoming a Cabinet Minister, especially a Minister of Housing and Social Development. Child discipline bill In 2005, a parliamentary ballot allowed the discussion of Bradford's member's bill, the Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill 2005. The Bill proposed amending Section 59 of the Crimes Act 1961 to remove the legal defence of "reasonable force" for parents prosecuted for assault on their children. The Bill passed the select committee stage and its second parliamentary reading with a huge majority, and became law after it passed its third reading 113 to 8 on 16 May 2007. The Bill occasioned widespread debate largely due its depiction as an "anti-smacking" bill, and a movement led by Family First New Zealand called a citizens initiated referendum on the issue. In one reaction to the Bill, threats were made against Bradford on the "CYFS Watch" website. After the Ministry of Social Development complained about the threats, Google shut down the website. Further death threats were made against her in August 2009. After Parliament Soon after Bradford's announcement of her resignation, Manukau mayor, Len Brown, suggested that she run to be a councillor on the Auckland Council. Bradford said that she would consider the idea but did not run. She joined the Mana Party in 2011, and was a losing candidate for the Waitakere seat at the 2011 New Zealand general election. In May 2014, Bradford resigned from the Mana Party in response to the formation of an alliance with the Internet Party. Since October 2014 she has been coordinator at Auckland Action Against Poverty. In 2015, on completion of her PhD thesis, she spearheaded the formation of the left wing think tank Economic and Social Research Aotearoa (ESRA). In 2017, journalist Jenny Chamberlain published a biography of Bradford: Constant Radical – The Life and Times of Sue Bradford. Notes References External links Sue Bradford bio (Green Party website) Sue Bradford bio (NZ Parliament website) The Holmes Interview: Sue Bradford – a feisty battler. Paul