22 Comments »

1. 

   The ones who are paying are cowards like me. Kudos to those who do not pay.
   Parents (Fathers) do not pay because the child support is perceived as an extortion tax. When the government will set up a fair system where non resident parents (usually forced to be so, and may be not even allowed to see their children because a mafiosi Family Court decided so ) then the parents will pay.
   Simple: Be fair with me I will be fair with you. For now the state is screwing us, our families and children.

   The system should not be managed by the IR either.

   Comment by tren — Wed 11th August 2010 @ 5:35 pm

2. 

   I took this off a political site.

   Dear Friend,

   Child Support has been in the news recently. Here is my position on the current debate:

   – Every child has a right to the love, affection and care of both their parents, whatever their situation, but no child has any control over the circumstances in which they are raised.
   – All parents, living together or apart, are responsible for their care of their children.
   – If parents separate, it is their joint and primary responsibility to make suitable arrangements for the care and ongoing support of their children. They have no right to take-out the emotion of their break-up on their children.
   – The state’s Child Support scheme should be the back-up for when these arrangements fail, not the automatic default position.

   I think there are problems with the way our current Child Support scheme works — it is too inflexible, fails to take sufficient account of today’s social circumstances, and does not do enough to encourage shared care between parents. As Minister of Revenue (responsible for collecting child support payments) I have been working on a review of the scheme since 2008. Last year, the Cabinet deferred my proposals for change, so I have been working on revised plans which I hope to put forward shortly.

   My focus is simple — the wellbeing of the children, for they are the most vulnerable ones when relationships break up. But sadly, too often, child support is more often about the tug-of-war between embittered parents, than the wellbeing of their children. I want to change that.

   If you would like to get involved with UnitedFuture, please contact [email protected]. You can also go the UnitedFuture pages on Facebook, via the website, http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz. Please feel free to pass this message on to your friends, or to distribute it through your networks. If you have names to add to this mailing list, or you wish to unsubscribe, please let me know.

   Regards,

   Hon Peter Dunne
   MP for Ohariu /Leader of UnitedFuture
   Minister of Revenue/Associate Minister of Health
   Visit our website at http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz

   And this bit…

   Language is important. See how the Taranaki Herald says, “While fathers shoulder the majority of the debt, 20 per cent of liable parents are mothers so it’s not just an absent dad issue”? They expect you to have seen it as women against men, and men who pay child support are “absent dads”. How did it get framed that way in the first place? Don’t men have any political representation?

   Comment by julie — Wed 11th August 2010 @ 9:11 pm

3. 

   Scrap, I’m sure I read a letter from Peter Dunnenothing on this very site saying that he had put some papers infront of the Govt to bring about changes and that it had been decided not to deal with the issue THIS YEAR. I’m sure the letter is still here somewhere as it was only in the last couple of months or so. I also have a clipping from the NZ Herald saying that it wasn’t going to be dealt with for 18 months, which is until AFTER the next election. So, Peter Dunnenothing has in fact, done nothing ……

   Comment by golfa — Wed 11th August 2010 @ 11:36 pm

4. 

   So Mr Dunne says

   My focus is simple — the wellbeing of the children, for they are the most vulnerable ones when relationships break up. But sadly, too often, child support is more often about the tug-of-war between embittered parents, than the wellbeing of their children. I want to change that.

   Hmm, he needs to change the legislation then.
   The Child Support Act 1991 is a Revenue statute. It is about getting the dough in. It has nothing to do with children and their best interests. Show me the dollars and I spend my day chasing them. That is what Child Support is about, kids matter not at all by the very legislation.

   I have one case I am currently working on where Dad owes $20,000 to his ex wife who died over 3 years ago and their only child lives with Dad and has done since mum’s death. However my task is to chase Dad for the 20k which is owed to her estate and will eventually be given to her second husband who abaondoned the child on her death and was in the sack with another partner withing weeks of the death. How does me chasing Dad who is caring for child actually benefit the child?? I don’t know but Dad owes so a chasing I go!!

   Comment by Ms IRD Officer — Wed 11th August 2010 @ 11:55 pm

5. 

   Very sad story!

   “Any country that has tried to create a political solution to human problems has ended up with concentration camps and gulags” – Erin Pizzey

   Comment by julie — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 1:03 am

6. 

   Julie –

   That quote by Erin is my favorite. Thanks.

   Comment by Darryl X — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 3:01 am

7. 

   It is a sad affair to think that Dunne Something is going to fix the problem. Keep waiting for the messiah. He is incapable and so is any other MP. Institutions and laws in NZ once setup they have a brain and a life of their own. They will only buckle under their heavy fat. The saviors are the nuts who do not pay child support, are those who do not engage with the Family Court and ignores them.
   -> Family Court STOP ABUSING NEW ZEALAND CHILDREN…

   Comment by tren — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 9:07 am

8. 

   Ling to Dunne’s Blog (Julies Post)

   Scrap

   Comment by Scrap_The_CSa — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 10:17 am

9. 

   Thanks Scrap. I should have provided the link.

   Comment by julie — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 1:31 pm

10. 

    You’re welcome. 🙂 After corresponding with MP Peter Dunne I learned he doesn’t want the state interfering with families working things out but it’s got so bad already – what to do?

    Comment by julie — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 1:58 pm

11. 

    He didnt even know how many nights it is for shared care,if it was 140 and not 146 nights I would have to pay about 5k less in child support each year.

    Comment by Craig — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 2:20 pm

12. 

    I think the time to Act is now, I think if every person affected by the IRD childsupport system wrote a message on his blog wall he might actually have to do something ,like up grade his server to stop it crashing ,in other words we should all start spaming him ,after all there is safety in numbers…

    Comment by Craig — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 2:28 pm

13. 

    Hey Scrap, “the next few weeks-I hope”. Yes well we’ll see.

    Prior to that in the video he says “in the next little while”. Thats his favourite phrase. If I had a dollar for every time he has said or written that….

    Comment by Rippey — Thu 12th August 2010 @ 2:32 pm

14. 

    Govt backs Coroner

    The Chief Coroner’s call for more debate about suicide reporting has struck a chord with the Government.

    Comment by Watchful Eye — Fri 13th August 2010 @ 6:53 pm

15. 

    Nice one!

    Comment by julie — Fri 13th August 2010 @ 8:34 pm

16. 

    Not spamming – lobbying

    Comment by Scrap_The_CSA — Sat 14th August 2010 @ 8:21 am

17. 

    you would be a rich man!

    Comment by Scrap_The_CSA — Sat 14th August 2010 @ 8:21 am

18. 

    Yes I wonder how many men have killed themselves over the stresses and strains of child tax and the matrix of Family Law.

    Comment by Scrap_The_CSA — Sat 14th August 2010 @ 8:24 am

19. 

    The news last night was interesting. Prominent member of the Jewish Community, prominent paediatrician, and prominent advisor to the Prime Minister, Sir Peter Gluckman, suggested; that our Government should not be sympathetically disposed to changes in the coroners act relating to suicide reporting. I was reminded of a movie I saw years ago set in the height of the Egyptian Empire. Well it wasn’t so much the movie but more the lingering graphic image of one scene showing how unwanted slaves were whipped to death in front of the other slaves. Maybe it was the director’s wisdom that knew that the principle portrayed would need time to catch up. I do not recall the title, perhaps ‘Exodus’ or some other such historical relevance. The other thought that came to mind was that of a juggler juggling hats. You know, where one lands on his head, one is tucked behind his back, and a colourful one to capture the moment is held up to the crowd, but for many this moment will be another lingering graphic image.

    Comment by Watchful Eye — Mon 16th August 2010 @ 10:05 am

20. 

    Former National MP and Children’s Commissioner Roger McClay has admitted to ripping off charities by charging them for flights which were paid for by the taxpayer.

    The man who wanted to make Fathers Day a national day of shame has fallen further from grace.

    Comment by Watchful Eye — Mon 16th August 2010 @ 8:26 pm

21. 

    And what about the kids that he has with his new partner, they to suffer to a point, if it was about soley about the kids then it would definetly be a fairer system.

    Comment by Rach — Thu 19th August 2010 @ 6:14 pm

22. 

    The amazing thing about nearly all of the news coverage on this is the lack of mention that it’s primarily a problem affecting men. Any social problem that killed or disadvantaged three times as many women as men would emphasize the gender issues involved. That is exactly the case for domestic violence, with female deaths being approximately three times that of male deaths. Well, look at the way domestic violence is portrayed as a women’s issue.

    Comment by Hans Laven — Fri 20th August 2010 @ 10:18 pm

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