UnitedFuture has always believed that the family is the core unit of our society, from which all values and skills for living harmoniously in a modern society emanate. Our family-specific policy specifically relates to families with dependent children and, far from being exhaustive, simply addresses issues that are not covered in other policies.
Issues:
- Children are more likely these days to experience a number of different family arrangements than in the past;
- Fatherlessness is regarded as the biggest predicator of delinquency in youth;
- Parents are older;
- An increasing number of children are being raised by family members other than their parents;
- There is more pressure on both parents to work full time;
- There is a lack of core parenting skills.
Policy Principles:
- We need relevant measures across all government sectors to monitor family success in quality of life indicators;
- Family resilience is reliant on both the internal skill set and strengths of the parents and the health of the local community in which they are based. Therefore policy needs to be focused on both the individual family and their communities;
- Policy should be based on credible research, robust consultation, and the use of trials/pilots.
What we have done so far:
- Established the Families Commission to research issues relating to families and provide evidence-based advice to government and the NGO sector on policy development;
- Pushed to establish family tax credits as part of Working for Families;
- Ensured KiwiSaver schemes will be able to be used as a deposit subsidy for a house, subject to criteria;
- Increased the Unsupported Child Benefit to match the Foster Care Allowance, so that grandparents raising grandchildren get the same as foster carer rates;
- Developed the 2010 Budget tax package, which saw the biggest reductions in income taxes across the board for families since the 1980s.
Supporting parents supporting children
UnitedFuture not only places children and parents firmly at the centre of all our policies – we exist as a party to keep Government focused on the family in all its shapes and sizes. Our main principle is that we believe that investing in those on whom children rely for their wellbeing – namely parents – is key. Although this is the thread running through our entire platform, the policies listed below specifically target the well-being of the relational family unit and the choices parents can make regarding the care of their children and their work/life balance options.
It is UnitedFuture policy to:
- Introduce Income Sharing for couples with dependent children, to reflect the fact that the family is generally the economic unit and not an individual earner in a family. Income Sharing means that, for tax purposes, the income of both parents is combined and then divided equally. Under our progressive taxation system this would result in a reduction in combined income tax paid where there is a significant difference in income between partners. It attributes equal value to the different roles each parent plays, whereas our current tax system does not recognise the contribution of parents who spend all or part of their time at home with children.
Income Sharing will give couples with children the option of having a parent work fewer or more flexible hours, be at home raising their children, and able to retain more of their combined after-tax income. Since the government subsidises childcare for those returning to paid work, it should also acknowledge the contribution of those who have decided to forego their income, in whole or in part, to stay at home with their children.
Legislation to put Income Sharing into effect has already been introduced into Parliament by UnitedFuture;
- Extend paid Parental leave to 13 months, as originally recommended by the Families Commission. In addition to the current 14 weeks' leave for mothers (which is able to be transferred to her partner upon application), a father or other partner would be able to take up to four weeks' paid leave in their own right, either at the same time as the mother or on their own. An additional 38 weeks' 'family leave' would be available to either parent, adding up to 56 weeks in total. The full package would be phased in over time with the aim of providing the full entitlement within 5 years;
- Support flexible working hours;
- Create one-stop shop Family Service Centres, building on the current 'Heartland Services Centres' model used in rural areas, to meet community needs in a coherent and family-friendly way. These centres would offer parents information on opportunities that exist for them and their children, and would be a point of contact for government and NGO-provided services demanded by the community, such as:
- health checks
- early childhood education and care options
- relationship counselling
- working for Families entitlements, other benefit information and budget advice
- parent education opportunities and support;
- Fund a public education campaign to provide couples with the tools to improve their relationships, followed up by access to resources and counselling services;
- Improve access to effective parenting programmes for a wider range of parents and parenting stages;
- Improve access to relationship counsellors and courses for families;
- Ensure that schools years 7–13 at school take an integrated approach to life skills by establishing it as a separate subject, including segments on career planning, budgeting advice, civic education, relationship and parenting skills;
- Target infant health by concentrating on the appropriate support for parents before and after birth and ensuring high-quality extended care and support, including home visits, by lead maternity carers and Plunket;
- Treat child obesity as a parenting issue and use parent education as the first line of attack to reduce obesity rates;
- Take further steps to safeguard children from harmful internet material, working with organisations such as NetSafe and the ICT industry to ensure that filtering software and other appropriate safety measures, including effective Codes of Practice, are effective;
- Make the Children's Commissioner part of the refocused Families Commission;
- Support the ongoing funding and development of the longitudinal programme, "Growing Up in New Zealand" and the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study and the Christchurch Health and Development Study.
See also UnitedFuture policies on Education and Health
Separated Families and the Care of Children
Close to one in three children in New Zealand are growing up in a house without both their biological parents. Some children have never lived under one roof with both their parents. Many other children and parents have had to adjust to family life after separation and divorce. A significant number of grandparents have also found themselves raising children that, for various reasons, their own children have been unable to parent themselves.
It is UnitedFuture Policy to:
- Amend the Care of Children Act to make explicit the presumption of shared care when determining the care arrangements for children when parents separate, as long as both parents are competent, and it is in the child’s best interest to continue to have regular contact with both parents after divorce or separation;
- Support all moves to introduce mediation services into the Family Court system to reduce the need for lawyers and judges when settling disputes;
- Introduce compulsory DNA paternity testing to determine parentage in cases of disputed fatherhood.
UnitedFuture knows that many grandparents who have been left to look after their grandchildren provide a selfless service that is of great benefit to society and the children themselves. Although these New Zealanders are fiercely independent and loathe asking for help, UnitedFuture thinks it is only fair that this contribution is acknowledged by the state.
It is UnitedFuture Policy to:
- Raise carer rates for grandparents to the same as that enjoyed by foster parents, including additional assistance and support in the form of respite care, grants for sports gear, legal aid and other such expenses or other help in areas to be determined by grandparents themselves.
Child Support
Over the past two parliamentary terms UnitedFuture has led a review of the child support scheme to make it more responsive to factors such as shared care, the income levels of both parents and the costs of raising children.
UnitedFuture wants to continue to improve the child support system, to look at ways in which the system can be made fairer and enable and encourage both parents to stay involved in the lives of their children.
It is UnitedFuture Policy to:
- Allow payments to separating parents on a benefit to be split at the ratio the parents decide is best for the child, and to reflect the contribution that both parents are making to that child’s upbringing;
- Require one nominated parent, in the situation where both parents are on a benefit, to continue to seek work once the child reaches 3 months of age, in the same way they would as if they had no child. Once that parent has found work the then the child support payment should go to the other parent in full or a split amount decided by the family.