Larry David Baldock (born 1954) is a New Zealand politician. Before entering national politics, he was involved with Youth With A Mission and spent 15 years living in the Philippines. After returning to New Zealand in 1996, he joined Future New Zealand in 1999, standing as a candidate in the Tauranga electorate at that year's general election. In 2001, he was elected to the Tauranga City Council, and served as a list MP for United Future New Zealand from 2002 to 2005. Political career United Future MP Baldock was elected to Parliament in the 2002 general election. Along with Murray Smith, Bernie Ogilvy, and Marc Alexander, Baldock failed to make it back to the 48th New Zealand Parliament in 2005, given United Future New Zealand's drop in electoral support to one-third the level at the previous general election. Like Smith, Ogilvy and Adams, Baldock is a Christian. Anti-smacking referendum When the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill, which would remove parental correction as a defence for assault against children, began to raise debate nationally, Baldock began organising a petition to force a referendum on the question, "Should a smack, as part of good parental correction, be a criminal offence in New Zealand?" With his wife Barbara, Baldock travelled all over New Zealand for the next 18 months. With the help of many volunteers and support from organisations like 'Family First' they collected approximately 310,000 signatures from voters, surpassing the 285,000 signatures, or 10 percent of total voters, required to force a referendum. When it was held from 31 July to 21 August 2009 voter turnout was 56.1%, with 87.4% of voters answered 'no'. In June 2009, then Prime Minister John Key said that the government would change the law if it was not working, but that he believed the current law was working well. The Kiwi Party On 16 May 2007, Baldock and his former colleague Gordon Copeland, then a United Future List MP, announced that they would be forming a new Future New Zealand party after expressing dissatisfaction with party leader Peter Dunne's support of the child-discipline bill. After the announcement that Copeland and Baldock would co-lead the new party, they held an inaugural party meeting in Tauranga, Baldock's city of residence, and stated that forty-five former members of the pre-merger Future New Zealand had attended, although the party had between sixteen and twenty members at that time. Former