I’m the producer of a documentary currently being made about the Child Support Act (CSA). Hand in hand with that are the troubles with the Family Court (FC), which have driven a lot of families apart.

The documentary is called “The CSA Files” and you can visit www.the-csa-files.webs.com for more information. This email serves as a formal written interview and your response or lack there of will be incorporated into the documentary

Information and statistics are in no short supply thanks to the power of the Internet. Even those that are computer illiterate have no problems finding this information. The people are learning and it’s time for the government to answer some questions…

The situation: The CSA and the FC are mutually exclusive. A NC parent MUST pay regardless of whether they have access or not.

The problem: Many men are paying far more to the ex spouse than needed. On average a child needs $70-100 a week for living expenses and on average NC parents are paying much more than that and some in excess of $250 a week. The CSA has neither ties nor interest regarding the FC and it’s judgments and the FC reciprocates.

The outcome: Many men are now so fed up with the system that a rebellion has established itself. Why are NC parents forced to pay for a child they have no access to? Moreover, if a child needs, on average, $70-100 a week shouldn’t the NC parent be paying no more than $50? In the cases where the payments exceed $250, what is the addition $200 being spent on? Where is the accountability?

The exodus: Given the FC can often rule very little to no access to the children is it any wonder that some men see fit to quit their employment and get out of the country before they are handed a letter from the IRD declaring them bankrupt?

• 37.9% of fathers have no access/visitation rights
• 40% of mothers reported that they had interfered with the non-custodial father’s visitation on at least one occasion, to punish the ex-spouse
• Overall, approximately 50% of mothers “see no value in the father’s continued contact with his children”
• Only 11% of mothers value their husband’s input when it comes to handling problems with their kids. Teachers & doctors rated 45%, and close friends & relatives rated 16%
• The former spouse (mother) was the greatest obstacle to having more frequent contact with the children
• A clear majority (70%) of fathers felt that they had too little time with their children
• Very few of the children were satisfied with the amount of contact with their fathers, after divorce
• Feelings of anger towards their former spouses hindered effective involvement on the part of fathers; angry mothers would sometimes sabotage father’s efforts to visit their children
• Mothers may prevent visits to retaliate against fathers for problems in their marital or post-marital relationship
• 77% of non-custodial fathers are NOT able to “visit” their children, as ordered by the court, as a result of “visitation interference” perpetuated by the custodial parent
• Information from multiple sources show that only 10% of all non-custodial fathers fit the “deadbeat dad” category: 90% of the fathers with joint custody paid the support due. Fathers with visitation rights pay 79.1%; and 44.5% of those with NO visitation rights still financially support their children
• Additionally, of those not paying support, 66% are not doing so because they lack the financial resources to pay
• 52% of fathers who owe child support earn less than minimum wage per year
• 66% of single mothers work less than full time while only 10% of fathers fall into this category. In addition, almost 47% of non-custodial mothers default on support compared with the 27% of fathers who default
• 66% of all support not paid by non-custodial fathers is due to inability to pay

From an outsiders point of view the non-paying NC parent is a disgrace to the nation and should not get away with not paying. They should be stopped at airports and hung from the nearest tree… well, that is the picture painted by our government. The truth is that those who are not directly involved with the FC or CSA have no idea what is going on and are lead by a number of policies to believe that men are bad. Just ask Air NZ.

Why are SOME men not paying child support? See the above statistics for the answer.

What is being done about it? The CSA is persecuting and punishing the non-paying NC parent by issuing fines and adding interest each month to an already unattractive amount.

It is increasingly apparent that a) The Human Rights Act is being ignored and b) This country no longer wants NC parents living on these shores.

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.