Judith Collins MP
National Party Welfare Spokeswoman

27 January 2007

Labour’s liable parent lethargy laid bare

“Australia should not have a smaller liable parent debt problem than New Zealand,” says National Party Welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins.

She has revealed that Australia, with a population five times the size of New Zealand, has a liable parent debt of around $700 million, compared to New Zealand’s more than $1 billion problem.

“In January 2003, when the liable parent debt here in New Zealand sat at about $617 million, National was ringing alarm bells. In the three years since then, that debt has mushroomed to more than $1 billion.

“Labour has utterly failed to get on top of this serious problem. Its inaction is sending the worst of all messages to those who are avoiding their responsibilities to their children and Kiwi taxpayers.”

Ms Collins says Labour’s attempts to deal with the issue have involved an amnesty on penalty payments for those who agree to start honouring their obligations.

“However, I think the message that sends is just wrong. It says that if you dodge your debts for long enough, Labour will let you off the hook.

“Labour needs to take some urgent action to start dealing with this issue.

“If they can stop fines defaulters at the airport, why can’t they stop some of the parents who owe thousands upon thousands of dollars for the support of their kids?”

ENDS

Australian Government Human Services Department 2004/05 Annual Report:

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/publications/ar0405/output_2/index.htm

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