Government’s Dysfunctional Child Policy Exposes Women to Coercion and Violence

Media Release Sat 25th Nov 2017

Right to Life is disappointed that the government is now giving a message to fathers of the children of solo mothers that they do not have an obligation to provide for their children. The government is revoking the requirement of solo mothers to divulge the name of the father of their child. Fathers have a serious moral and legal obligation to provide financial support for the children that they have fathered. The state also has a serious moral obligation to ensure that fathers meet their obligations.

The law requiring fathers to support their children was passed by a National government in 1990. The penalties for non-disclosure were increased by a Helen Clark Labour government in 2005.

However the new Minister of Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni (pictured above) is about to change all that. Right to Life believes the Minister lacks credibility when she says that the legislation discriminates against women and against Maori. Green Party Jan Logie, undersecretary for Justice stated that the name of the father was, ”frankly none of the state’s business.” Right to Life begs to differ and the Minister should note that the current law is working. In 2004 there were 19,443 solo parents who were receiving a weekly $28 reduction in their benefit because they had refused to divulge the name of the father of the child. This had reduced to 13,616 parents in 2016. Right to Life asks why are we now going to head in the wrong direction?

In August 2004, the then Labour Minister of Social Development, the Honourable Steve Maharey stated in Parliament “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.”

The community has a right to know why this government is supinely implementing a socially destructive policy engineered by the Green party. Labour has meekly agreed to this in their agreement for confidence and supply. The government also has a serious duty to protect the taxpayer and to support social responsibility. The Minister’s intention to remove this requirement is in fact a massive discrimination against the taxpayer who will now be required to support the upbringing of the children of irresponsible and cowardly men.

In implementing this socially irresponsible child policy of the Green party, the government is giving a dangerous message to predatorial men that they can exploit and abandon women and their children with impunity. The new policy will expose solo mothers to increased coercion and violence. It will also encourage fatherlessness and child poverty. Right to Life expects that it will result in a substantial increase in solo mother’s being coerced into refusing to divulge the name of the father.

Solo mothers are our community’s heroines who are heroically bringing up children without the help of a husband. They deserve the full support of the community and the government to ensure that fathers meet their obligations to their children.

Ken Orr

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