The IRD is a law in its self, yes i am a father who went to court and got custody of my two sons.It cost me tens of thousands of dollars and much more,many police raids on my home where my children were, as their mother called the police every day telling the police that i was a drug dealer.I had interpoll investigating me , the works, but in the end i got custody of my boys and there was no everdence ever produce to prove my ex was telling the truth in court.The judge was about to throw my ex and her friend in prison for making false claims in court and under oath.Any way to cut a long story short, i never claimed child support, but my youngest son went for a weekend stay at his mums, and never returned, why his mum bribed him with play stations and tv , stereo systems etc, but only could have them if he stayed with her.I approched the law and tried to get my son back but no they could not help me even when i had a court order which stated i had full custody of my boys, the IRD hit me with child support payments within two days, i told them to go to hell as i was the custodian of my son thru the courts , they said that they dont care what the court states, that its a matter where the child is???Yes i had to pay, my son came back to me after 6 months and i returned the favour on my ex, and called the IRD to get child support,, it took a few weeks as the IRD wanted proof that my son was at home with me, now it only took my ex 1 day to get the IRD onto me, why does it take the IRD weeks and require proof that my son is with me before they accept he is and give me child support???Any how just got a letter from the IRD and they want $4,000.00 off me as my assesment was wrong when my ex was getting child support??These guys are dept collecters for the government and thats it we can not win, and the children suffer because of their blunders.
If this is about paving the way for income-splitting that benefits the rich, I wouldn't call that fair. Less money should mean more support. Many NZ families live in poverty, this support would impact the wider community greatly, resulting in happier and healthier little kiwis. I do feel the system does need amends. Shared arrangements needs to be tweaked to make it equally fair and getting someone earning $500 week to pay $150 in child support, is just not right at all. Dropping the penalties is a good move. the father should help at least to pay half the childcare expenses.
Finally, separation and divorce are hard on all parties. Mom and Dad have it rough but it trickles down and on the kids. Not fair...even less fair is that divorce court is set up to be adversarial. Child support is also set up to be adversarial. Usually the mother has custody and the father has to give upwards of half his earnings. It's time for someone who can make good changes, changes that reflect both parents responsibility to the children. Take divorce out of the court system (adversarial) and put it into mediation. Hold both parents responsible for 50% of the cost of raising their children. Hold both parents responsible for all decisions regarding the best interests of the children. Hold both parents to a higher standard. They HAVE to get past the hurts of the failed marriage and remember to be friendly and caring towards the other parent so the children don't suffer the anxiety of conflicting parental emotions. Divorce should require post-divorce counselling to teach the parents how to get along and move forward as positive role models. Remove the money issues (make it 50/50) and most people can move forward happier.