Where Peter Stands - Families

Families provide the most enduring bonds of all, and form the cornerstone of strong societies. The concept of the family has changed over the years, but the ideals of the family — love, mutual support and unconditional acceptance — remain the same.

I believe it is not the role of government to define the family or to prescribe its functions. Rather it is to maintain the environment in which families can define themselves and flourish. This approach necessarily implies that governments should support all parents and leave them to make decisions for themselves. With respect to government policies, they should not make some parental choices difficult to exercise by disadvantaging certain families and rewarding others.

Under the previous Liberal-led Government the baby bonus was introduced to help all new mothers care for their infants, and family tax benefit payments were increased in line with community expectations. These payments are under threat now that the Rudd Labor Government has introduced a means test on the baby bonus. The prospect of budget deficits is also likely to put a brake on family support payments in the medium term, as debt burdens become a problem.