Gudgeon Bill: Social Security (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Gudgeon Bill: Social Security (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:624;Page:19727] 
BILL GUDGEON (NZ First) 
: 
 I was touched by the words given by Judith Collins about how important parents and family are to her. I likewise support her views—very much so. 
In fact as I listened to her I thought about my own upbringing where our parents and grandparents were present where we had aunties and uncles everywhere and where we sort of ran out of room for places to sleep. Not too long ago just before Christmas I went back to the East Coast to attend a funeral. I took one of my grandsons with me and also a little dustpan and broom. My grandson asked me: “What’s that for grandfather?”. I said: “Oh I’m just going to sweep the room of our hotel.” So we got to the area where we were to attend the funeral and drove down the road to where an old concrete shed stood. My grandson looked at me and asked: “Where are we going?”. I said: “Just to our hotel.” Unfortunately for us—or fortunately for him—the old doorway was all boarded up. The building was just an old concrete shed where our families had lived and slept. He asked: “Are we going to stay there tonight?”. I said: “Yes but we can’t get in because it’s on council property at this stage and I don’t want to be charged with breaking and entering.” But that was the kind of spirit that was generated where families were close and where both parents grandparents and aunties and uncles were there to support us. 
If the figures given by Judith Collins in her press release are correct they suggest that many more people than are known about have absconded and are now resident across the Tasman. The present system of international border control may need attending to. However the lack of information is the main factor that allows fathers and in some cases mothers to default and leave the responsibility of financial support to the taxpayer. We can debate figures but this still will not alleviate the problem or produce a solution to the issue of fatherless children. 
We must hold the parents responsible unless we want a situation similar to what has happened in Romania where many children are being cared for in orphanages. That would be the extreme case. New Zealand is not a Third World nation but in some cases one might think so. To have an environment of balance stability and strong family orientation there need to be laws in place that will ensure that children’s welfare is paramount. Short of being a do-gooder I ask if there is any other way this problem can be eclipsed. New Zealand First will support this bill with provisos as stated in our minority report but we also remind the Government that the State cannot carry the social ills of this country forever. New Zealand First advises strong and effective laws that will promote accountability so that our children and families grow up in an environment that will include good parenting and life skills for future generations. This situation is an indictment on the communities we all live in and the ball has bounced back to within the walls of Parliament. 
I ask members to hark back to the policies that have been legislated for thus far and see what we have come up with. Have they been for the benefit of our families? Are these policies working? If we have organisations that are not fully functional how can the laws be implemented? New Zealand First lays down the challenge to this Labour-led Government to get it right. If not New Zealand First will ensure that this will happen. I remind members that the bill’s purpose is to put into effect as part of a broader package of initiatives measures to encourage more sole parent beneficiaries to establish paternity and apply for child support. I applaud the Minister’s foresight in helping mothers to prepare for an independent future. Flaws there may be but a beginning that has a positive future is a good beginning. 
Parents have the responsibility. I spoke with my son who manages a swimming pool in one of the towns in Waikato. He told me about a lady who goes there every morning to do her swimming training. She mentioned a young boy whose father left his mother and the child was adopted out. Many many years later this young man married and a family reunion was held. He introduced himself as so-and-so. An uncle pulled him aside took him away and told him who he really was. Unknown to this young man he had married his own sister. How sad. How sad. Now we see the responsibility that the father should have taken. 
Parenting is the utmost responsibility in every land in this world. If parents do not carry out their responsibilities as parents what do we have? As Judith Collins said the poor are mainly those who come from parents who have lost their parents or whose parents have denied them the opportunity to be brought up in a good functional home.