Lotu-Iiga Sam: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Lotu-Iiga Sam: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 21 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:8101. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
6. 
Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (National—Maungakiekie) 
 to the  
Associate Minister for Social Development 
: Why do the welfare fraud reforms he announced yesterday focus so heavily on relationship fraud? 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS (Associate Minister for Social Development) 
: 
 Relationship fraud such as claiming a domestic purposes benefit while being in a marriage or de facto relationship is one of the most common types of fraud and last year over $20 million of entitlements was taken illegally from hard-working taxpayers in this country. Because domestic relationship fraud is difficult to detect it can go on for some time before it is detected. It is interesting to note that last year of the 61 people who were charged with receiving entitlements in excess of $100000 41 of those were people in relationship fraud largely women with not a lot of equity available to meet those and carrying the full weight of criminal responsibility. We think that having the other party in a relationship in respect of that getting away scot-free is unjust unfair and immoral. 
Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga 
: What is the Government doing to address relationship welfare fraud? 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS 
: Yesterday I announced provisions that would mean that the non-beneficiary party in a relationship fraud situation would be criminally responsible and responsible for the debt if they knew or should have known that fraud was being committed. It is unthinkable to me that someone could live for some time in a long-term relationship in a marriage-type relationship with a crime being committed in the home that they are living in while they are there and be able to get away with it scot-free. What I am pleased to note is that from the emails and the responses I have had today from good decent and hard-working Labour Party voters they love it. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: Given that all fraud should be pursued has he suggested to the Minister of Revenue that he apply his new welfare provisions to tax fraud including a new offence for spouses who ought to have known they were benefiting from fraud; if not why not? 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS 
: I have been having discussions with the hard-working Minister of Revenue the Hon Peter Dunne. It is important to note a couple of things from the quite proper question that has been put. For instance in respect of tax evasion that is a fraud that is frequently committed away from the home by one member of a household. In respect of the criminal justice—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Do the members want to hear the answer or not? 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS 
: —system as that member will know the threshold of proof is beyond reasonable doubt. The next point to realise is this: relationship benefit fraud does not exist except for two people in a relationship and the Government does not believe one person should get away from that scot-free. 
Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga 
: How does he respond to concerns that the changes may disadvantage women in an abusive relationship? 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS 
: This is a very important point and it is a point that has been raised over the last 24 hours by a number of people. The fact is that the law recognises that a woman living in an abusive relationship is not living in a relationship in respect of a marriage. What that means is this: for the purposes of the Social Security Act a woman living in an abusive relationship or any person living in an abusive relationship is not by definition living in a relationship in the nature of marriage and so cannot be prosecuted—cannot be prosecuted—for benefit fraud.