Dunne Peter: General Debate 
Dunne Peter: General Debate 
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Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) 
: 
 That was an amazing speech. I would like to acknowledge as I am sure all members in the House would the bravery of Amy Adams the member who has just spoken. We know the ordeal that she and others around her have gone through in recent days. That cry from the heart for understanding for some space and I guess for recognition of the huge stress that the member and the people of Canterbury are under is I think one of the most powerful contributions I have been privileged to hear in this House in a very long time. I acknowledge the member for that. I congratulate her and assure her that every single member of this Chamber will be behind her her family and the people of Canterbury during this ordeal. 
I will use my time this afternoon to talk about some of the tax measures that have been put in place in the wake of the earthquake in Christchurch. As the member alluded to it may be difficult at this time but the threads of life have to be picked up. One of the immediate concerns people will have is all those day-to-day things like their tax bills and their Working for Families tax credits and whether they will be paid as usual. They may well be part of the more substantial income coming into the house in these trying times. I assure Cantabrians that all payments they are expecting from the Inland Revenue Department such as their Working for Families tax credits will be made as usual. 
We have as I said in the House yesterday established a special Inland Revenue Department disaster response line. The number is 0800 473566. It is for individuals and businesses to make contact with the department if they think they face difficulties that require attention. I know that in the vast scheme of things sorting out tax matters will not be a huge priority for Canterbury people and businesses at this stage. That is perfectly understandable; there are far more pressing things for them to get on with worrying about. But we are saying from the Inland Revenue Department’s perspective that we will be prepared to work alongside individuals and businesses in this very stressful time to make sure that they are not doubly disadvantaged by some of these systemic interventions. We will be providing full information to people on the remission of late payment and late filing penalties and interest payments that are due. We are also working on a number of technical tax issues that arise from property that has been damaged or destroyed and the tax consequences that inevitably arise from any associated insurance claims. 
It has been gratifying to know that many people have contributed to the relief funds that have been established. I am pleased to announce this afternoon that cash donations of more than $5 made by individuals towards earthquake relief will be eligible for tax credits and they will be tax deductible if they are made by companies. 
I simply say to people in Christchurch that they should not be concerned about these matters at the moment. They have more pressing things on their minds. But from a tax point of view we are prepared to work alongside them both to make sure that they get in a timely way the entitlements they are due and also to ensure that the adverse impacts upon them at this particular time are minimised. I do not want to say too much more about the Christchurch situation because in the wake of the comments of the member who preceded me any comments from me about it would be superfluous. She did it so much more powerfully. 
I will talk about one other issue in the time that remains to me and that is the issue of child support. Last week I released a discussion document  
Supporting children 
 about changes to our child support law. It is worth putting on record that 140000 families and some 210000 children in New Zealand are affected by the child support system. Although in an ideal world those arrangements would be made voluntarily between parents at the time of relationship breakups the reality is that in a number of cases that does not happen. Sadly what was designed to be a back-up backstop solution has become the default. We need to change that and make a number of other changes that recognise the reality of circumstances today and ensure that the focus—which everyone proclaims but sadly often ignores in the emotion of the circumstance—on the welfare of the children is given pre-eminence. I invite people who want to make a submission to go online to www.supportingchildren.ird.govt.nz and make their comments accordingly.