Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

In resuming my comments on the Child Support Legislation Amendment (Reform of the Child Support Scheme—New Formula and Other Measures) Bill 2006 that we have before us, I want to reiterate my concern that, despite the good measures that are in this bill and the support for families in fairly difficult circumstances that it provides, we just do not know what impact this bill and the changes to the Child Support Scheme are going to have on low-income families. We have heard, obviously, from some of the modelling that was done at the time of the Parkinson report, that they will have an adverse effect on low-income families. But it does appear that the government has not taken that into consideration in the development of this child support formula, nor has it taken that into consideration in any compensation measures in this particular bill. I am concerned that there appears to have been little thought given by the government to that.

Whilst I am concerned about the failure of the government to make any attempt to quantify the impact of the bill and make any provision to protect low-income families, I do note that work is under way to establish monitoring and evaluation systems once the new formula is introduced. An ongoing monitoring and evaluation is clearly critical to the successful implementation of the new scheme.

I support moves by Labor to establish a Senate inquiry in 2007 to properly examine the impact of the bill on existing child support recipients and, in particular, whether any of these families will be worse off or are worse off as a result of these changes. When we are making changes of such a significant nature, we know that there is evidence out there in the modelling that was done for the Parkinson review and there is an expectation that low-income families will be affected by this legislation, I think it is absolutely critical that we go back and look at it in 12 months time to see what those effects have been and whether any further changes need to be made or any compensation measures put in place.

Despite this, I am concerned about what is going to happen to those families who are going to be worse off with the changes to the child support formula over the past 12 months. I encourage the government to make sure that they actively look at this for low-income earners. It is a shame that the government did not take the time or the effort to fully model this bill before it was introduced into this place so that those negative impacts could be taken into account and minimised.

The other component of this legislation is the strengthening of the compliance regime for the Child Support Scheme. Introducing an independent review mechanism and enhancing the Child Support Agency’s compliance capabilities is long overdue. For too long the Child Support Agency has been a bundle of red tape that, despite sending copious letters, did little to actually enforce the payment schedules it created. The fact that only half of all parents meet their child support obligations in full and on time is a problem that has needed to be addressed for a long time. It is the children of separated families who ultimately have paid the price of the existing toothless Child Support Scheme. And, as the summary report and recommendations are titled, we should all, regardless of which side of the House we sit on, be working in the best interests of children.

The new arrangements will improve the consistency and transparency of child support decisions and will provide a review mechanism that is inexpensive, fair, informal and quick. As I have already said, the emotional and mental strains of separation are challenging enough without the additional expense, stress and fear that the current system thrusts upon ordinary Australians. The new arrangements will finally take into account that not all Australians have a law degree and are capable of arguing their case succinctly in an environment that is both intimidating and confusing.

I am supporting this bill today, subject to the concerns I have raised about its impact on low-income, sole parent families. The government must commit to monitoring its impact and assisting low-income families that are adversely affected. The child support formula should more closely reflect the actual costs of raising children. The legislation should assist in providing a more transparent and realistic assessment of child support payments.

In conclusion, I will go back to where I started: the core principle of this debate is that it is the responsibility of parents, whether living together or apart, to provide the best possible environment for their children to grow into healthy adults. The law cannot force parents to act responsibly but it can attempt to provide them with every opportunity to do so.

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