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MEDIA RELEASE Child Support Agency Should be abolished August 26, 1998 THE Child Support Agency must be held responsible for encouraging a big jump in unemployment levels, the Federal Member for Kalgoorlie and Australia First Parliamentary Leader, Graeme Campbell said today. "The precursor of all these problems is the Family Court which is currently showing its arrogance and lack of regard for justified criticism by using its power to silence one of its victims who has been demonstrating outside the Family Court in Melbourne. "This demonstrator has now been charged by the Family Court with contempt," Mr Campbell said. "Onerous payments by non-custodial parents insisted upon by the CSA is forcing many people out of the workforce and creating a huge welfare payment problem for the country. "Now if the government had the political courage, it would abolish the CSA and the massive savings from this action could be directed towards funding tax cuts which would be welcome by sole parents, some of whom currently receive little or no support from their former partners. "Figures obtained by my parliamentary colleague (Dickson MHR Tony Smith) have revealed that the full cost of the CSA for 1996-97 was $160 million and if an accrual accounting method is used this figure would be closer to $200 million. "In the same year the CSA collected just over $406 million but the full economic costs are much higher," Mr Campbell said. He said about 30% of non-custodial parents had a taxable income below the $9000 threshold level, which gives them no liability. "The vast majority would be unemployed. However, with national unemployment running at 8%, this suggests an extra 97,000 people have been forced out of the workforce by the CSA system. "Every day my offices receive telephone calls from distraught non-custodial parents saying they are at their wits ends with the unfairness of formula used by the CSA to access payments. "These people tell me, my parliamentary colleagues and my staff that they have had enough and they intend going on the dole. The rationale they use is that when they only have a few dollars more than the dole left in their pay packets each week, there is very little incentive to work. If they do work, they do so for cash payments. "The cash cost of unemployment benefits to these people is $807 million and does not include administrative costs. There is also the added cost of lost production. With most payers being men with average male weekly earnings of $826.50 a week. Add to this to the unemployment factor, this equates to lost production of more than $4 billion annually." "Arguably the total economic cost of the CSA is $5 billion a year to collect $406 million. In simple terms, the economic cost of the CSA per child is $6250 a year to distribute on average $500 per year per child. Mr Campbell said there was a growing mood of frustration and desperation by those in the community who have become "victims" of the CSA. He said this desperation was being shown with one disgruntled man setting up his own political party to campaign against the CSA and to pressure sitting Members of Parliament of both major parties to have something done. Ends For further information Graeme Campbell Ph (08) 9021 2035 |