Parents Centre applauds the announcement of the Families Commission

"We are delighted at the announcement of the Families Commission," said Parents Centre President, Sharron Cole. "As Peter Dunne said, it is an idea whose time has come".

"There have been a lot of detractors, but I think that they are completely misreading the environment. Our business sector operates in a rich environment where they are actively supported by dozens of government agencies, creating opportunities, helping with research and celebrating their victories. Our parents, on the other hand, operate in an environment where almost all the resources are put in coping with failure. To have even one government agency promoting to government what parents need to succeed is not only a break with tradition but incredibly cost effective. Every dysfunctional family costs our country hundreds of thousands of dollars. If we can put in place parenting policies that give people the best environment to succeed in, we will be saving billions of dollars and giving more meaning to thousands of lives.

The family is key to whether a child grows up to be an inspired, motivated, contributing member of society, or a person feeling they have no place in society and ultimately costing us all. If all that the Families Commission do is help our policy makers to understand and respond to that, we will have seen 28 million well spent dollars."

Parents Centre believes that we need to make parenting more appealing and the environment more supportive for the long term future of our country. Our birth rate is falling, and people are leaving starting a family till later in life. We need to ask ourselves why this is and what we can do to make parenting a high value vocation. Parents need to feel important and valued.

"Those people who decry the coming of the Families Commission need to ask themselves what are they offering to parents by way of support and encouragement?"

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