Radio news has Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development, saying she will get rid of the penalty for not naming fathers of children who are supported by benefits. We knew it was coming and new information indicates NZ First is going to support the change.
To reiterate on past posts, one of the major reasons mothers refuse to name fathers is to help them dodge child support.
In the past Labour has acknowledged this.
From parliament, 2004:
Heather Roy: When will he admit that this is just a rort so that fathers can dodge child support, and why should taxpayers always have to pick up the bill?Maharey meant it and he increased the penalty in an effort to reduce the rort.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY: It is a rort, and I have said time and time again in this Parliament that fathers must front up to their obligations, and we will make sure they do, as much as we can.
But today Labour don't care what is costs the taxpayers. And apparently they don't care about children being denied their father's name on their birth certificate.
Sepuloni will argue that the penalty isn't working. However the numbers who incur a section 70a penalty have fallen. In 2004 there were 19,443.
Last year the number had fallen to 13,616.
2 comments:
Labour supports deadbeat dads
Some people would say that the solution is to leave the fathers alone and to not pay taxpayers' money to the mothers.
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