Commonsense prevails in definition of a 'family'

National Party Social Services spokeswoman Katherine Rich is claiming a victory for commonsense after Government moves to change clumsy wording in a Bill that would have included gangs in the definition of a family.

"The Opposition exposed this farce during the first reading of the Families Commission Bill in May, I'm pleased that commonsense has finally prevailed," says Mrs Rich.

"At the time both the Government and the self-appointed family party, United Future, rubbished the Opposition for raising the alarm.

"It speaks volumes of this politically correct Government, that it sought to define a family as broadly as any group whose members 'have a significant psychological attachment'.

"The definition was so expansive it made a mockery of the Families Commission and it would have made the Commission's job almost impossible," says Mrs Rich.

"Despite its claims, this Labour Government has done little to improve the lot of the Kiwi family.

"It has been an advocate female fathers, it has removed the work test for the DPB and just this week the Minister for Social Engineering, Steve Maharey, claimed sole mother families are just as good as traditional 'nuclear families'.

"National believes families are the cornerstone of society, but we can't support this waste of money that will duplicate services and do nothing for families in need.

"Opposing the Families Commission Bill is not anti-family, it is commonsense. We'd rather support something that will make a difference to families' lives - initiatives like reducing CYF social worker caseloads.

"New Zealanders know the Commission is an election pay-off for United Future, and that erodes any credibility it may have had from the start," Mrs Rich says.

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