Stewart Barbara: Child Support Amendment Bill (No 4) — In Committee 
Stewart Barbara: Child Support Amendment Bill (No 4) — In Committee 
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BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 Thank you very much for the opportunity to take a call in this debate. New Zealand First believes that the Child Support Amendment Bill (No 4) is an attempt to take some action on this very difficult issue. This issue has needed to be addressed for quite some time and when we look at what was reported in the Christchurch  
Press 
 about the $281 million that is owed by Kiwi parents in Australia I think that tells us that action needs to be taken. We are very aware that there are flaws in this current system and other speakers have already pointed out many of them. We want to see liable parents encouraged in some way to take responsibility for the problem of child support. It is a big issue. To totally ignore the situation and not even think up any answer to this problem is not providing a solution for anybody. I think that is where we are at at this particular point in time. 
 I was very pleased to hear from the Minister that action is to be taken against those parents living in Australia. We know that if we leave this particular issue and there is total inaction on this problem that is being totally irresponsible. We know that all the parties in this House—and I have heard many debates over the past two parliaments—believe that some sort of action is necessary particularly where half of the liable parents we are talking about are in debt to the Inland Revenue Department. 
This bill is some attempt to reconnect parents with their responsibilities. As the Minister has pointed out this bill provides only limited relief and it is not the total solution for all of those parents. The arrears that responsible parents sometimes find themselves falling into do not mean that those parents are totally irresponsible—and I think that is in contrast to what we have heard from one of the previous speakers from the National Party. Non-payment of child support which is what we are talking about is a very serious and important issue. We know too when reading the bill that this provides only very limited relief. I know that parents must still pay some of the arrears they owe including some of the penalties. There is a provision in the bill for reviewing this particular clause if liable parents default on their obligations. 
What we are really attempting to do in this bill is basically to acknowledge that liable parents are financially responsible for their children. In this case it is better to get some money from those liable parents rather than no money. We need to encourage the compliance of parents who fail to meet their child support responsibilities. We know that both parents have a collective responsibility for their children and it is always a challenge when this particular issue comes up. As previous speakers have said it is a very emotive issue and a very technical issue. We know that when it comes down to it one parent is the loser in many of these cases and we can only feel very sorry for them—but we definitely feel sorry for those parents’ children. We want the children to benefit from the full payment of the financial obligations of both parents. 
So New Zealand First will be supporting this part. We believe that some action is better than no action. This bill might not be the perfect vehicle but it is a start in the right direction and we can only applaud that.