John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is National Marriage Day. To mark this, the Australian Family Association, the Knights of the Southern Cross and the Australian Christian Lobby, among others, are holding a variety of parliamentary briefings. These are focussing on marriage and family policy. These are core issues. I encourage all my colleagues and their staff to attend sessions if they can.

Often any debate or commentary on marriage is reduced to the one about traditional marriage versus same-sex unions. My views on this, and those of the DLP, are well known and will not change. Strong marriages, and therefore strong families, are imperative to the health of our nation. The DLP believes the family is the fundamental building block of our society. All policies, all legislation and all actions need to be taken with this in mind. A strong, healthy marriage is the foundation for a strong, healthy family. Families make communities and communities form our country. When people have strong family and community support, the entire country benefits. There is less depression, fewer social problems and fewer suicides. Less money is spent on mental health problems. Less money is spent on picking up the pieces of broken marriages.

In 2012 there were 49,917 divorces. That is almost 50,000 men and women put through the emotional and financial wringer. Even the most amicable divorce has an impact on the children of those marriages. But it is the government's responsibility to formulate policies that can help ease the external pressures put on marriages and families around the country. Financial pressure can play a huge part in relationship breakdowns. Adjusting the taxation system to recognise the financial cost of raising children would reap enormous benefits.

A policy of income-splitting would recognise that one wage provides for more than just one person and that children are future financial contributors to the taxation system. Income-splitting would allow families with dependents to pay less tax; therefore, decreasing the amount families need for taxpayer funded assistance. In years past, governments recognised the costs and benefits of raising children. But this is being slowly stripped away.

The family tax benefits of today had their origins as a voluntary redistribution of income by workers. Family tax benefits have never been welfare—the name explains the original purpose. The goal was to even-up tax burdens between those with dependent children and those without. For the system to be fair, a portion of the parents' income should be allocated and treated as the income of the child. Income tests are then applied accordingly to the income in the child's hands.

Allowing families to keep more of their income to support their family strengthens the communities in which they live. It means money can be spent on school uniforms and school supplies. It means money will be leftover to pay for children to join sporting clubs and be involved with their community. Strengthening and supporting marriages, and strengthening and supporting families must be a priority of all governments of all persuasions. Our future and the health of our nation depends on it.