Senator and self-confessed "lunatic godfather" Senator David Burch believes all children need a "crazy" relative in their life to keep them in line.

He was speaking out as tough new parental responsibility legislation was debated and eventually passed in the Upper House.

While he backed the legislation, which makes parents accountable for their troublemaking kids, he said it is not a silver bullet.

Sen. Burch believes in the theory of everyone in the "village" helping to raise a child in order to stop problems developing in the first place.

And while he is not a parent himself, he spoke of the pride he takes in watching over other people's children and helping to keep them in line.

"Folk have to show a genuine interest and care and participate in their children's lives," he said.

Sen. Burch described himself as a "lunatic godfather" who went to his godson's middle school last September after he'd been given a series of red cards over bad behaviour. He then proceeded to embarrass him in front of his classmates.

"I went down in his class and he thinks he is sharp and he looked at me, and the look on his face is 'you got to be kidding me. You can't embarrass me like this'," Senator Burch told his colleagues in the Upper House.

"He just looked at me in complete amazement. I told his class that, you know, I'm his godpa and as far as I was concerned he will be leading the Country one day and he should not be getting no red cards in school and neither should his (future) colleagues.

"The point of that story is that happened a year ago that September. I have never had to go back to the school for discipline ever again."

Sen. Burch said children have to know there is a line drawn in the sand and if they cross it there will be consequences. They also have to have someone concerned about them so they can achieve success "that doesn't require a whole lot of money and stuff", he added.