9 May 2008
National Families Week 2008: A time to treat all families equally
Australian Human Rights Commissioner, Graeme Innes, has become an Ambassador for National Families Week 2008, one of Australia’s foremost celebrations of the importance of families.
“National Families Week 2008 is an excellent opportunity to reflect upon the Australia of today, in which families come in a vast array of shapes and sizes from the traditional nuclear family through to many families in which there is only one parent,” Commissioner Innes said.
“It is also an opportunity to remind ourselves that there are many children, who have same sex parents, who are consequently disadvantaged in financial and other very real ways because of current federal laws that actively discriminate against their same sex parents,” Mr Innes said.
“If the federal government’s Same Sex Relationships (Provision of Equal Entitlements) Bill
(No. 1) is passed in Parliament, it will go a long way to removing discrimination against these families.”
National Families Week, which runs from 11 to 17 May, highlights the critical role of families in Australian society and coincides with the UN International Day of Families on 15 May. Hundreds of community groups, businesses and government departments will be holding local events around the country to celebrate the occasion.
Families Australia Chief Executive Officer, Brian Babington said “this year’s message of Work and Family - Getting the balance right encourages all Australians to do practical things to more effectively balance work and family responsibilities. You could, for example, plan a family night or outing each week or negotiate time off work to attend school and family events.”
“National Families Week is Australia’s main annual celebration of the importance of families. Last year, a record number of over 110,000 people celebrated National Families Week in events across the nation,” Mr Babington said.
National Families Week is run by Australia’s peak independent not-for-profit organisation promoting the needs and interests of families, Families Australia (www.familiesaustralia.org.au), on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
Media contacts: Brinsley Marlay (02) 9284 9656 or 0430 366 529
