Labour must direct IRD to use warrant powers
Judith Collins MP
National Party Welfare Spokeswoman
28 October 2007
Labour must direct IRD to use warrant powers
National Party Welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins is calling on the IRD to use its powers to prevent liable parents with a substantial child support debt from leaving the country.
“So many custodial parents have written to me expressing frustration over IRD’s apparent indifference to collecting outstanding child support from their former spouse, despite being provided with the information and power to do so.
“A common response from IRD is to fob people off citing the Privacy Act.
“We now have a situation where taxpayers are lumbered with $1.2 billion in child support debt. Half of that debt is owed by 16,000 liable parents who no longer live in New Zealand. It is an absolute disgrace.”
Ms Collins says IRD already has the power to issue arrest warrants but very rarely does so, claiming its ability to apply for arrest warrants is restrained by being reliant on third parties advising them when a liable parent has arrived, or is about to leave the country.
“Accordingly, in the previous four years, IRD has applied for only 50 arrest warrants. This just doesn’t tally with the number of letters I receive from custodial parents who say they have advised IRD that their former spouse is entering or leaving New Zealand.
“The Revenue Minister is refusing to tell me how many notifications the IRD receives. But let’s be realistic – does anyone really think a custodial parent wouldn’t contact IRD if they knew their former spouse was planning to leave the country and ignore their child support obligations?
“This Government last year introduced a fines collection system at airports to nab fine defaulters but seems averse to preventing people with child support debt from skipping the country.
“I note that when it comes to the collection of fines initiative, Labour decides that collecting fines outweighs any privacy issues for the fine defaulter. But when it comes to child support defaulters, the IRD consistently uses the Privacy Act as an excuse for doing nothing.”
Ends