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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 6 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1664 ..

MRS CROSS: I thought I would be a little more discreet, Mrs Dunne. However they are defined, family relationships are the foundation of society. When those relationships are strong, people feel connected with their community and society is generally stable. When large numbers of families are dysfunctional, there is a negative effect in our community. Members will recall that I have spoken previously of the benefits to young people of a reasonably stable family life.

The latest ABS figures show that one of the main priorities for addressing Australia's growing suicide problem is to provide a community environment that fosters strong family relationships. Married people are 21/2 times less likely to commit suicide than those who are widowed, never married or are divorced. For those who are married or partnered with children, the risk reduces even further-dramatically so.

A look at prison data shows that a high proportion of ACT prisoners serving sentences or more than five years come from family backgrounds where they were abused or seriously neglected as children.

Whatever governmental, educational and support programs are put in place, unless the family unit is valued, honoured, strengthened and restored to its place as the most important unit of society, then associated problems such as suicide will be dealt with at the service level rather than at the root cause.

The need for good family communication cannot be overemphasised; nor can the need for extra support for families in crisis. To this end, programs aimed at teaching parenting skills take on great importance. It is a myth that first-time parents will just know what to do when their turn comes. While all parents were once children themselves and therefore have a model to follow, they may have been parented poorly and need a new approach.

If parents and their children can talk to each other, and if they have access to outside help when it is needed, they can work through problems without destroying their relationship. This is important for us as a community.

Each culture or people group, including us here in Australia and the ACT, has its own distinct ways of living and thinking. These are developed in response to the particular circumstances of their natural and ideological environment.

Family is the group through which each new generation is made familiar with tradition and standards of acceptable community behaviour. It teaches the individual the cultural ethos and how to adjust to people and groups outside the family circle.

The structure and understanding of family change with time. Families can be seen as having a life course of their own. Not unlike biological organisms, they change over time with a focus on change and time.

When family structures are disrupted by either adding or taking away family members, the role of individual members can radically change. This is also a time for government to be sensitive to, and to ensure, family wellbeing.

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