Logie Jan: Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015-16 Research and Development and Remedial Matters) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLogie Jan: Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015-16 Research and Development and Remedial Matters) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 11 March 2015. Volume:703;Page:2163. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAN LOGIE (Green): I rise to offer the Green Party’s support for this bill. The reasons for our support have been quite well traversed by my colleague Gareth Hughes in the first speech and I will focus my contribution primarily on the aspects of this bill that deal with child support which we do indeed have concerns with. Actually these aspects I think demonstrate what I have already referred to today as this Government’s masquerade of competence. It was less than 2 years ago that this House passed legislation that was presented as a comprehensive review of the child support laws. Yet here we are again fixing up prior mistakes and the cost overrun for the implementation of those reforms has been projected to be as much as $180 million. So if anyone is still holding on to the myth of National Party competence I hope this bill this aspect of this bill puts that to rest.The reforms passed less than 2 years ago are just now starting to bed in. I must say I am certainly getting quite a few emails expressing concerns about those changes none of which are addressed in the provisions in this bill. This bill is entitled the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015-16 Research and Development and Remedial Matters) Bill—so do not look at child support. It is nothing to do with that the Government would suggest whereas there are some very significant provisions in this bill that are fixing up prior mistakes and that hold very real potential risks for the safety and well-being of New Zealanders. So we are currently supporting this bill but we will be closely scrutinising its child support provisions at the select committee.Some of the aspects of concern for us are that this bill replaces the compulsory automatic deduction of child support from wages for liable parents with voluntary wage deduction processes although compulsory deductions will remain for parents in default and for beneficiaries. Our concern is that we believe that this is likely to result in increasing defaults and the possibility of coercion by the liable parent to agree to child support not being automatically deducted from wages. This bill also creates an opt-out option for parents if they both agree to treat payments as a private matter rather than a liability through the Inland Revenue Department. So it creates more of a negotiation more of an opt-out and makes it more optional.I need to again remind this House of the context that this legislation sits within which is the situation where one in five women in this country right now are either being physically or psychologically abused in their relationships. In 1996 a safety survey found that 70 percent of separated women have experienced some form of domestic violence. Seventy percent—seven zero—of women had experienced some form of domestic violence. So to introduce the concept of optionality of negotiation into a context where domestic violence is so present is frankly dangerous. Only 20 percent of domestic violence is picked up by our police. You cannot have negotiation in a context of abuse. That cannot be stressed enough. So this bill potentially puts the livelihood and well-being of children at risk.The bill also introduces further changes around ending formula assessments that will not be able to be undone as they are at the moment because the Government has decided that so many things are being reversed that it has become too costly. So the Government is removing the right to change some of these decisions. Again I remind this House that in the context of domestic violence it is possible that some of the initial decisions are going to be wrong and harmful for families. And to remove the right of people to get the decision changed is just deeply worrying. Again I do have to point out that I am not exaggerating when I say that child support is used as a weapon against women and children in this country and these changes potentially give abusers more ammunition.Debate interrupted.