Child support review submissions high
Fom the ODT
More than 1250 submissions on the review of child support have already been made ahead of the October 29 deadline.
Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said there was a lot of interest in the reform of the child support system.
“Contributions received will have a big influence on ensuring that we have a child support scheme that works as effectively as possible for the well-being of our children,” he said.
Most of the submissions expressed dissatisfaction with the current system, Mr Dunne said.
“My aim is to make the scheme fairer and to take into account changes in society since the scheme was originally introduced………..”
There was only one idea in the whole thing that was kind of good. It felt like a waste of time to be honest and the questions weren’t broad enuff!
Comment by Scott B — Mon 25th October 2010 @ 11:07 am
I am an Australian women separated with 1 child.
My partner is separated with 3 children.
We both rely on 2 very different laws to keep the peace between our broken families.
The New Zealand government should be ashamed.
The difference between the rights of fathers in New Zealand and Australia is tragically outdated.
Were a father in Australia instantly assumes 50% custody,in New Zealand a father is forced to prove that he is capable of taking care of his child, and generally only offered a day in a fortnight to do so.
I am disgusted to watch fathers (my partner is not the only man I refer to)fight to see their children.
Women who use the system to cripple the fathers access to children and bargain for financial gain.
Fathers must ask were, when and how he should look after his children.
And the system promotes this.
Were is the research that proves a father is incapable of looking after or making decisions for his own child?
Why is it that a father must be a low income earner to receive legal aid.
As it happens a mother looking after a small child usually can not work.
In the case of a separation she would usually claim benefits.
This gives her access to free legal aid.
If a father can’t come up with thousands of dollars soon after separating, he will likely be forced to bend to the will of the child’s mother.
I have seen fathers walk away from there children, because it’s too hard.
Why shouldn’t a father and mother assume equal (legal) custody of their children as soon as separation occurs. The entire system is geared towards protecting maternal rights, but what about paternal rights?
It’s not just fathers that suffer, it’s the entire paternal family that does.
I have been searching for a way to help my partner gain some rights to his own children.
Unfortunately there is no help for him, for us or a passive merging of our own two families.
Comment by Lauren — Mon 25th October 2010 @ 5:57 pm
Yes the questions were definitely too narrow, and were aimed mainly at setting thresholds and other such minutae that the IRD love so much. I would guarantee that your impassioned pleas in the comments section will be ignored.
Apart from that I wonder who was responding. Everyone here will have taken the time I’m sure but wimmins lobby groups are very well organised and may well have saturated the survey with their preferred answers.
Comment by GH — Fri 12th November 2010 @ 8:59 am
Yeah well I think it’s just a PR stunt and we’re gonna get screwed over more than we already are!
Comment by Scott B — Fri 12th November 2010 @ 2:44 pm
Looking at the male to female ratio in NZ – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_sex_ratio, father’s will never get rights…. IRD, child support system, the family court a.k.a female court, all prey upon the paternal feelings of males in this country. All males are kept in the same basket so to speak. All males are considered wife bashers in this country. Therefore, its time we took the right decision, surpress our paternal feelings, look away from our cultural and moral values, treat our estranged kids as investments for feminists, and let a fatherless society be created. Only then, I believe, there will be true reforms of the domestic laws in this country. Consider a liability to be a liability and not a moral obligation – start thinking with your head rather than your heart, and all problems will be solved.
Comment by Ashish Naicker — Thu 3rd November 2011 @ 4:25 pm