Hon Peter Dunne: consultation to make child support scheme fairer
Revenue Minister Peter Dunne today launched a discussion document proposing a series of options – including changing how child support is calculated – to make the scheme fairer.
Mr Dunne said he wants New Zealanders’ views on a number of options to improve a child support scheme that “is outdated and sometimes unfair”.
“The reality is that family life in New Zealand has changed considerably in the 18 years since the current scheme was introduced,” Mr Dunne said in releasing the Supporting Children discussion document.
“Families have evolved and their domestic and financial situations have changed, and are often more complex today than they were in the past.
“Today both parents are far more likely to be working than was the case in 1992, and often separated fathers have a far greater involvement with their children than they used to have,” he said.
“We need a child support scheme that works better and we need New Zealanders – particularly those whose lives are impacted by it – to contribute to a national discussion on this very important issue,” he said.
... Read the full text of this article.