Parents for Children
Media release

Will Cunliffe’s Catastrophe become Dunne’s Disaster?

“Peter Dunne really has been given a hospital pass from the Labour Government with the revival of the proposed changes to the Child Support Act 1991. Mums, dads, lawyers, economists, social commentators, child advocates… are all saying a real review of the current approach to Child Support is required, but politicians continue to ignore pleas for a fair and reasonable child support system that works for our kids,” responded Mark Shipman, National President of Parents for Children, to comments attributed to Peter Dunne in The Press (17 November 2005)

“The proposed tinkering with the Child Support Act will worsen the real problems faced by parents forced to deal with a system that focuses on benefit recovery for the State at the expense of the best interests of Kiwi Kids. The current Dickensian approach to Child Support is driving more and more parents to the poor house while damaging our children’s future thanks to a Government that is obsessed with revenue collection, not the best interest of Kiwi Kids,” observed Mark when asked to comment upon the proposed tinkering to the Child Support Act 1991.

“Australian politicians have initiated major changes following serious issues identified when reviewing their Child Support System. Given that the Child Support system we have was based on the Australian legislation parents are asking: Why are politicians ignoring the real issues that have been shown to exist with the New Zealand legislation? Parents for Children hope that Peter Dunne will have the courage and vision to initiate a real review of the current Child Support Act,” concluded Mark.

For further comment contact:

Mark Shipman (021) 982-222
Jim Nicolle (021) 800-586