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Wednesday, 20 August 2003, 8:16 am
Opinion: Scoop Feedback

Something smells fishy

I believe there should be a formal investigation into the validity of the Prostitution Bill vote which took place on 25th June. In a vote which allows a politician free to vote according to his own conscience and not be swayed by political pressure, an astonishing 50 of the 60 votes for the bill, were members of the Labour and Green party. If there is evidence that even just one of these politicians was put under pressure to vote a certain way, then this bill loses validity. I challenge someone to take this up and investigate it.

Also this begs a question, if a government or party ever misuses its power in such a situation, who is it responsible to?

Yours faithfully

Jo van Kempen - NZ

Families Commission Bill

By embracing a variety of family structures the Families Commission Bill is saying all relationships are functionally equivalent to married families. It suggests that any group of people with a psychological attachment, even gang members, count as 'family' – though few would argue that gangs provide the same nurturing environment as the traditional family and are therefore worthy of equal recognition and credit.

Whilst it is important to assist those in difficulty, we are being guided so much by the philosophy of helping people who are apparently suffering that we undervalue the structures likely to prevent suffering in the first place. Repeated studies show that de facto relationships on average have a short life span; sole parent families are generally not in that situation by aspiration, but rather by circumstance; and sadly, children outside of a two-parent family on average do worse in almost every measurable way possible.

By contrast, the married family is demonstrably valid across all cultures. It provides benefits for the adults involved, ranging from greater wealth to longer lives, and has always provided the best environment in which to nurture children. The Families Commission Bill must help those people in unideal relationships attain a kin group better for themselves and society. This is not done through politicians simply labelling their current misfortune ‘acceptable’. The Bill must give primacy to the two-parent married family, which world-wide research shows on the whole is the best means for nurturing children and sustaining society.

Yours faithfully

Carl McIntyre - NZ

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