A 'pro-family' government that is not doing its job

So much for helping out with the “work life collision”.

It’s no good saying you’re pro-family but making it impossible for Australians to fulfil the great Australian dream of owning their own home. When the Howard Government came to power it cost 4.5 years of the average wage (male average weekly earnings) to buy a home. It is now 8.3 years. The average loan size in March 1996 was $94,400 and now it is $206,600 - an increase of 119 per cent. The relevant comparison is with average weekly earnings, which for Australians in full time work has increased only by 45 per cent since 1996.

It’s no good saying you’re pro-family while presiding over a family payments system which has 600,000 families with average debts of $800 each, and clawing those debts back irrespective of the hardships endured by families who were overpaid through no fault of their own.

If the government really was pro-family, it would fix the massive problems in childcare. Costs are going through the roof, and there are nation-wide shortages, leading to long waiting lists.

A pro-family government wouldn’t use family payments to penalise women who want to work and contribute a few dollars a week to the family income.

A family friendly government wouldn’t actively discriminate against same sex couples in denying them and their children access to the Medicare Safety Net, given that 20 per cent of female same sex couple households and 5 per cent of male same sex couples are households with children.

Families have changed. Couple families with dependent children now account for a minority of households (although couple families still represent the vast majority of families in which children live).

Society has changed. The majority of mothers with dependent kids work (64 per cent, according to statistical data released last week by the Australian Institute of Family Studies), as well as 92.4 per cent of fathers.

It is not the role of government to privilege one family model over another. The role of government is to take the pressure off families and individuals wherever possible - to make government policy supportive for all family models and individuals, not pick and choose the families of which we approve and punish those of which we disapprove.

We haven’t seen any details of the much touted “Family Impact Statement” beyond what the incoming Family First Senator, Steve Fielding, said two days after the election.

Senator-elect Fielding said, “Family First is based on family values and if it is good for families we will vote for it”. John Howard is reported to have agreed to the principle that all Cabinet-level policies are to be examined from the perspective of families.

Well what’s new? Is he admitting that since his election in 1998 he hasn’t been thinking about how his legislation affects families?