Howard's IR laws vs family values
It feels good to have triggered a bit of a conversation about fathers, parenting and work in a previous post. Now, David has alerted me this Don Edgars opinion piece from The Age the other day. In Howard's wrecking ball, Edgars, formerly head of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, examines how Howard's IR laws will affect family life and the time and energy workers – whether men or women – will have with their families.
This was something pointed out in the comments of that previous post of mine, so obviously this is something on many people's minds. Must check out Edgar's book, The War Over Work: the future of work and family (Melbourne University Press).
posted by Mark Lawrence @ 10:03 am
3 comments
3 Comments:
But then it can get worse - The Guardian is running this story today:
Not married, with children? Not in our town thanks
· Missouri council defends policy to 'protect values'
· Unmarried couple could be fined $500 a day
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1782423,00.html
Yes, that's getting pretty bad. But that's the forked tongue approach – impose right-wing 'family values', which devalues diversity and personal choices (we make the kinds of families we want, that work for us, not what you expect of us), and at the same time create work, economic, political and social conditions that make it very hard for us to support our family and thrive in them!
Then, when we fail, we are blamed for having bad 'family values', rather than the conditions within which we struggle condemned.
On a further note, was that council's regulation, and moves against the family, being challenged in court on the basis of discrimination? Or doesn't US have anti-discrimination law on the basis of marital status? Only in the land of the free...
Post a Comment
<< Home