Macindoe Tim: Child Support Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Macindoe Tim: Child Support Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 08 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:2033. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
: 
 I was pleased to hear Ms Moroney in her introductory comments describe the objectives of this bill the Child Support Amendment Bill as honourable because they certainly are and I welcome the fact that that has been reflected generally in the contributions of members to this point in our first reading debate.  
The Hon Peter Dunne speaking an hour or so ago when he introduced this measure noted that the children affected by this particular bill do not choose to be in the circumstances that they find themselves in—needing the protection of this bill. So it is very important that we respond to the needs of those children as fairly and as sensitively as we can. I therefore welcome the support that has already been indicated by Labour and New Zealand First speakers opposite and I thank them for that. I am disappointed to hear that they will not be joined in their support of the measure by the Greens but I am sure that we will work through the submissions that we receive during the select committee process and I hope the outcome will be definitely an improvement in this vital area of law.  
The chair of the Social Services Committee Sam Lotu-Iiga when speaking in the debate made the point that this bill builds on very important work that the Government has been doing in our time in office in the area of child welfare such as the green paper on vulnerable children and the welfare reform legislation measures to encourage teen parents to learn parenting and budgeting skills and so on.  
As with the extensive public consultation that was undertaken on the green paper the Government undertook significant public consultation on this measure to update the child support scheme including issuing a discussion document. The submissions on that document reflected the Government’s indication of the need to provide a safety net through the benefit system for those who are unable for various reasons to support themselves financially. In the context of child support this means that child support payments are collected and delivered for the benefit of the children for whom they are intended and that parents do not pass their financial responsibilities to maintain their children on to other members of society. We all are constantly picking up the tab for many many children in that position. We want to see those children given all the support that they need and deserve but we also want to ensure that the system is fair to all taxpayers and that others are not unfairly burdened by the refusal of some to meet their obligations when in fact they could. 
The child support scheme is intended as a backup when parents are unable to make satisfactory private arrangements for the financial support of their children. Fortunately in many many instances this backup is not needed but it is sobering to realise that it currently helps provide financial support to about 210000 New Zealand children—210000.  
It is 20 years since the Bolger National Government introduced the scheme and as has been observed by previous speakers much has changed in our society in the intervening two decades. So the amendment is now appropriate. This updated bill has been strongly shaped as I said by extensive consultation. That consultation has been with a wide range of Government agencies whose input is obviously critical but there has also been significant public consultation on the various options that are available to us for child support reform. The level of interest in this particular issue is illustrated by the fact that there were 2272 participants in the online consultation and a further 112 written submissions on it. That in my experience in this House is a very high level of contribution of submissions. I thank everybody who made a submission on it. As I say their concerns broadly speaking underline the importance that the Government is bringing to this measure and show their support for the changes that are proposed in the bill.  
Those changes fall broadly into three categories. There is a new child support calculation formula which includes greater recognition of shared care and the income of both parents and new estimates of expenditure for raising children in modern New Zealand society. There are further changes to update the scheme to take account of other key factors such as making it easier to recognise significant daytime care and relying on parenting orders and agreements and there are improvements to the rules for payments penalties and debt. The new formula will provide a more equitable system of financial support in a variety of circumstances. It will better reflect many of the social and legal changes that have occurred since the introduction of the current scheme such as the greater emphasis that is now placed on separated parents sharing the care of and financial responsibility for their children.  
When I was a child the rate of separation was lower but also the likelihood that a father would be actively involved in that care was probably lower. There was sort of a natural assumption that the mother would do it all and the father would go off to work. Well times have changed. We have moved on. I think it is a good thing that fathers in those circumstances are now in many cases more actively involved in their children’s care but sadly the other side of that coin is that in many cases the fathers are nowhere to be seen. So it is about striking a balance.  
My colleagues who have spoken before me have traversed some of the assumptions and implications underlying the new formula so I am simply going to close with a couple of general observations. I look forward to working on this important bill in the energetic and mostly harmonious Social Services Committee when it is presumably referred to us.  
The rules relating to payment penalties and the write-off of debts play an important role in encouraging liable parents to meet their child support obligations on time. As my colleague Alfred Ngaro observed a few moments ago debt from unpaid child support is currently $2 billion and 60 percent of the debt is from overdue penalty payments. Typically we are talking about liable parents who fall behind in their payments then incur interest and penalties that in many instances see the figures grow massively out of their control and they drop out of the system because they simply cannot cope with the burden that they find themselves expected to meet. The taxpayer picks up the tab and in many cases the children suffer. The changes in the bill are aimed at better encouraging and facilitating parents to make timely payments of their child support. I am sure we all welcome that and I commend the bill to the House and look forward to seeing it pass through to being enacted.