JourneyOnline
A report by the Fertility Society of Australia, to be released later this month, will reveal that 70% of survey respondents nominated a stable relationship as the top pre-requisite for having children, not income level.
“The baby bonus has proven valuable in increasing the birthrate,” said Mr Wallace, Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby, “but 70% of people clearly believe the real need is to have the commitment in relationship that marriage seeks before parenting children.”
The survey also revealed that one in three women over thirty said they had no children because they had no partner.
“People intuitively recognise the importance of a stable relationship as a pre-requisite for having children,” said Mr Wallace. “Children do best when raised by their father and their mother in the security of marriage. But we have to be concerned about why so many people are struggling to find the lasting love they seek and to express this commitment in marriage.”
“Whatever their career or financial aspirations, people still derive their deepest satisfaction from close relationships. Marriage is not the institutional prison it has sometimes been portrayed as,” said Mr Wallace. “A good marriage is a deep source of strength and blessing because it provides the firm commitment and security that both partners need, which in turn gives them the confidence to become parents. Rather than continually denigrating marriage, we need all Governments to actively encourage marriage.”
Photo : NATIONAL NEWS
