Harawira Hone: Child Support Amendment Bill (No 4) — Third Reading 
Harawira Hone: Child Support Amendment Bill (No 4) — Third Reading 
[Volume:634;Page:5389] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. Tena tatou katoa i te Whare. As we consider the Child Support Amendment Bill (No 4) on this date I am mindful that today is also the 29th anniversary of the death of Steve Biko a young black African man killed by the apartheid regime of South Africa for daring to oppose the racism in his world. 
As we consider this bill on this day I also take this opportunity to honour our kaumatua from the far north Mr Pia Ihaka from Te Kao a man for whom there was only one tribe—Te Aupouri—and to whom all other tribes in the north were mere subtribes. I honour him for his dedication to te reo Maori and for his commitment to ensuring that any child under his direction achieved a level of excellence at Nga Manu Korero—the national Maori speech competition. As we consider this Child Support Amendment Bill (No 4) on this day I mention Nga Manu Korero because as we speak the nation celebrates the culmination of months of effort from hundreds of Maori youth at the 2006 Nga Manu Korero competitions currently being held in Opunake—the 41st time that this premier event has been held. 
The very first winner of the Korimako Trophy in 1965 was a young woman from St Mary’s College in Ponsonby one Donna Awatere. In 1973 that award was won by a lawyer Prue Kapua; in 1979 by print and television reporter Aroaro Hond; by broadcaster Julian Wilcox in 1993; and by Maori Party list candidate Tell Kuka in 2002. The Pei Te Hurinui Jones Trophy for the senior Maori section has been won by such luminaries as health specialist Mauriora Kingi in 1979 the writer of the All Black haka “Kapa o Pango” Derek Lardelli in 1980 and the internationally renowned musician of “What’s the Time Mr Wolf” Ruia Aperahama in 1987. 
As we consider this legislation on this day I mention Nga Manu Korero because those young people could teach this House about the quality and nature of robust but respectful speech-making. I also mention these examples of excellence because when we consider issues affecting our children we need to be guided by a sense of achievement and excellence not just by financial return. I note that 300000 children in Aotearoa are being supported by child support payments and I have no doubt that many such children will be found amongst the contestants in the audience at Nga Manu Korero. 
That is an important note in the context of this bill because many of the submissions received tended to reduce the concept of child raising to a formula based purely on money alone. One submission was about the cost of supporting a child. Another said that child support was a matter for parents to settle not the Inland Revenue Department—although given the massive arrears that sounds more than a little unrealistic. Some submissions were depressing—men bitching about being ripped off by money-grabbing women and women moaning about being lied to by men who said they had no money. Thankfully there were some submissions that focused on the well-being of children as a priority over personal and departmental finances. 
The Maori Party supports any efforts to ensure that parents accept their financial responsibilities to their children. We are talking about a lot of parents—more than 142000 in 2005. So we support the intention of this bill to ensure that liable parents meet their obligations. We also note that changes are being proposed in this bill to make it easier for liable parents to think of rebuilding their relationships and even rebuilding their whanau. If that means that 142000 families may benefit from strengthening connections and responsibility then we support that idea as well. 
We also welcome the number of options proposed to get lapsed payers back into the system without forcing them into greater debt. One of the biggest obstacles to this has been the harsh penalties for late payment of child support. We note that it is only now that the Government is putting up a bill to deal with what has blown out to be more than $1 billion of debt. We support the proposal to address the penalties that erupt as soon as a parent slips up on child support payments. We also note that arrears of 37 percent in the first year and 29 percent in following years create an enormous debt so it makes sense to encourage people to pay up. 
We welcome the suggestion to write off penalties as an incentive for people to restart payments. We note that the Inland Revenue Department takes a case by case look at writing off penalty debt. That is a concern to us because unless the criteria are clear we find that Maori people often suffer when things are left in the hands of departmental discretion. We also hope that the department has clear criteria when it comes to looking at cases where liable parents may not be paying what they are supposed to be paying. We make no fuss about the right to investigate because as long as there is a system someone will try to rip it off but we will support initiatives where the rules are clear and the emphasis is on improving relationships rather than snooping on people who are poor. 
The Maori Party supports the proposed exemptions from liability for child support for teenagers under the age of 16 and for victims of sex offences. Allowing young people to put off child support payments until they can complete their education will help them as people help them as parents and help them understand their need to pay into the child support scheme. We also support the idea that victims not be further victimised by having to pay child support for children born as the result of sex crimes. While we are talking about exemptions I would like to remind the House of a case in Waipukurau in 1995 where the mother of a boy born in 1984 and whangai-ed at birth to an auntie applied to stop her child support. The boy had been living for 11 years as a whangai with everyone’s support before the Department of Social Welfare stepped in at the last minute and demanded a liable parent contribution from the birth mother. The mother’s lawyer argued that the provisions did not apply because the child had been adopted and that Maori customary adoptions were affirmed in legislation. Fortunately the court threw out the department’s case saying that the department’s actions defied common sense. But although the precedent has been set in the court I note that it has not been properly addressed in this legislation. 
The Maori Party is keen to support any proposal that will harness the strengths and talents of our whanau. We will support any policy that encourages whanau development and that encourages parents to support their children whether through the practice of whangai or through the payment of child support. 
I began my korero with some of the names of the winners of the Nga Manu Korero. I forgot one name and in the interests of cross-party support for this bill I would like to advise the House that the winner of the Nga Kete o te Matauranga trophy for 2003 and 2004 for best female speaker in the senior Maori section was none other than the niece of Shane Jones Miss Ngahuia Harawira. 
My hope for Aotearoa and the rationale for the Maori Party support for this bill is that our actions are driven by a desire for excellence for our children a willingness to support our children a love of the gift of children and our love for children themselves. Kia ora tatou.