AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * MARRIAGE MANIFESTO RELEASED AT CANBERRA SUMMIT * BOTH MAJOR PARTIES SAY THEY OPPOSE AN AUSTRALIAN BILL OF RIGHTS * ABORIGINAL WOMEN SEE SBS AS PURVEYOR OF PORN ----------------------------------------------- MARRIAGE MANIFESTO RELEASED AT CANBERRA SUMMIT A significant new document was launched recently at the 'National Strategic Summit on Marriage, Family and Fatherhood' in Parliament House Canberra. The purpose of the "Marriage Manifesto" is to promote the importance of marriage to Governments with the view to them adopting more marriage and family friendly policies in view of the important part that marriage plays in society. The 'Marriage Manifesto' presents an analysis of the current perspective and attitudes to marriage in Australia. It promotes the benefits of marriage, suggests that marriage is a social good and contains a wide range of pro-active ideas that, when implemented, will bring about a cultural shift where marriage is valued as an integral part of creating positive social capital that will build Australia as a great nation. The document has already received strong support and interest and is expected to encourage a rethink of public policy with the objective of increasing support for marriage and families. National Marriage Coalition Executive Directors, Neil and Jane Rookes, said "Marriage as we know it has been devalued, ignored and is often hammered and under attack from many directions. Marriage is often portrayed as irrelevant and today there are very few positive role models to provide inspiration for the next generation. It is time to draw a line in the sand and recognise the importance of married couples and strong families and the important contribution they make to our community. The truth is that the overwhelming majority of Australians still have high aspirations to be married and to raise children in the proven best-practice model of a man and woman who create a loving family environment." Parents of five children, Byron and Francine Pirola co-authored the Marriage Manifesto and serve as the National Directors of Celebrate Love, a marriage education program. They said "No one who marries aspires to divorce and no one who has experienced the pain of divorce would wish it on their friends. Everyone wants their marriages to succeed, and as a society we need them to. Marriage is the cornerstone of families and strong families provide enormous benefit to society. It's time, as a society, we start to actively support married couples being successful in their marriages... if for no other reason than enlightened self interest" Over sixty signatories representing counsellors, educators, academics and business leaders have already endorsed the Marriage Manifesto. They hope to see many of the ideas contained in the document implemented to effect a positive social change in our nation.The Summit was convened by Warwick & Alison Marsh from 'The Fatherhood Foundation'. A number of federal parliamentarians including the Attorney General Philip Ruddock and the Prime Minister John Howard spoke at the Summit encouraging the men and women present and endorsing the vision and values of the summit. .The Manifesto says in part: "We believe that marriage needs to be reaffirmed because:The divorce and co-habitation revolutions have failed. Divorce has not delivered greater personal happiness; Co-habitation has been conclusively shown to be a less stable alternative to marriage. Unwed-childbearing is failing women. We value freedom and cherish social equity. There is a widespread longing for marriageFor these reasons we come together as Help men and women achieve a caring, collaborative, and committed bond, with a strong foundation of mutual respect between spouses Help reduce divorce and unmarried childbearing, so that each year more children will grow up in the security of a stable and functional two parent home.The document lists SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF MARRIAGE which are: Marriage is a legal contract. Marriage is a financial partnership. Marriage is a covenant or sacred promise. Marriage is an exclusive sexual union. Marriage is a personal bond. Marriage is a family-making bond. .Marriage fosters effective fathering. It goes on to record Twenty-One Reasons WHY MARRIAGE MATTERS. These are: FAMILY 1. Marriage increases the likelihood that fathers have good relationships with their children. 2. Cohabitation is not the functional equivalent of marriage. 3. Growing up outside an intact marriage increases the likelihood that children will themselves divorce or become un-wed parents. 4. Marriage is a virtually universal human institution.ECONOMICS5. Divorce and unmarried childbearing increase poverty for both children and mothers.6. Married couples seem to build more wealth on average than singles or cohabiting couples.7. Married men earn more money than do single men with similar education and job histories.8. Parental divorce (or failure to marry) appears to increase children's risk of school failure.9. Parental divorce reduces the likelihood that children will graduate from college and achieve high-status jobs.PHYSICAL HEALTH AND LONGEVITY10. Children who live with their own two married parents enjoy better physical health, on average, than do children in other family forms.11. Parental marriage is associated with a sharply lower risk of infant mortality.12. Marriage is associated with reduced rates of alcohol and substance abuse for both adults and teens.13. Married people, especially married men, have longer life expectancies than do otherwise similar singles.14. Marriage is associated with better health and lower rates of injury, illness, and disability for both men and women.MENTAL HEALTH AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING15. Children whose parents divorce have higher rates of psychological distress and mental illness.16. Divorce appears significantly to increase the risk of suicide.17. Married mothers have lower rates of depression than do single or cohabiting mothers.CRIME AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE18. Boys raised in single-parent families are more likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behaviour.19. Marriage appears to reduce the risk that adults will be either perpetrators or victims of crime.20. Married women appear to have a lower risk of experiencing domestic violence than do cohabiting or dating women.21. A child who is not living with his or her own two married parents is at greater risk of child abuse.For more information on the Marriage Manifesto contact National Marriage Coalition Neil and Jane Rookes http://www.marriage.org.au Source: National Marriage Coalition ----------------------------------------------- BOTH MAJOR PARTIES SAY THEY OPPOSE AN AUSTRALIAN BILL OF RIGHTS In an important decision for people who value personal and religious freedom both the Federal Government and the Opposition have made statements stating they would not support a Bill of Rights for Australia.Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Managing Director Jim Wallace has praised the Government and Opposition for their announced position. Whilst the Government has always rejected the concept of a Bill of Rights Mr Wallace said he was encouraged by news reports indicating that the Opposition was also distancing itself from the kind of policy position that some State Labor Governments were considering which could lead to a Charter of Rights in NSW and the ACT."Human rights are important and should be protected but ACL has a number of concerns about the way in which a Bill of Rights or a Charter of Rights could actually serve to undermine existing freedoms rather than safeguarding people's rights," Mr Wallace said."It is good to see both major parties rejecting the idea of a Bill of Rights in their responses to questions from the Law Council of Australia. It is also pleasing to see Labor apparently putting more distance between itself and a Charter of Rights."However this is an issue of concern to many people and we would still like to see Labor make an unequivocal statement that they will not support a Charter of Rights."Mr Wallace said ACL is opposed to a Bill of Rights because it would open the door to the excessive use of judicial power by transferring final decision-making from the elected parliament to the courts, thus introducing uncertainty into the meaning and application of the law."There is the potential for court judgments made under a Bill of Rights to erode family and Christian values. For example, in America it has been successfully argued that naked dancing in bars is protected by the outer limits of the First Amendment because it is a form of sexual expression," he said. "There's also the potential for a Bill of Rights to lead to restrictions on even the discussion or criticism of activities which most Christians find undesirable."Mr Wallace said a Bill of Rights can also lead to a self-centred and litigious culture, and be used as a Trojan horse for minority agendas."Where real human rights infringements are found, it is far better for governments to address them through passing specific legislation than to enact a catch-all Bill or Charter of Rights," he said. Source: Compiled by APN from media reports ----------------------------------------------- ABORIGINAL WOMEN SEE SBS AS PURVEYOR OF PORN Aboriginal women have singled out SBS television as one of the main distributors of pornography in the Northern Territory, says Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough.Changes being implemented by the Federal Government to try and deal with sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities means that anyone caught in an Aboriginal community with pornographic DVDs or magazines faces fines of up to $11,000. People in possession of five or more prohibited items will be automatically deemed traffickers and face up to two years imprisonment.The bans form part of the second phase of the Federal Government's intervention in the NT but critics claim they don't target problem areas and will be easily undermined. "Foxtel R rated channel is still by far the major source of porn going into communities and unfortunately the Federal Government hasn't turned that stream off yet," said Robbie Swan a spokesman for the adult entertainment industry. "The minister is aware of it but he's finding it difficult to deal with it because big business owns that."Mr Swan claims that only 15 to 25 per cent of pornographic material viewed in remote Aboriginal communities came in the form of a DVD or magazine, while the rest was sourced through pay or commercial television. He said there as "plenty of evidence" to suggest that Foxtel representatives were promoting the channel in Aboriginal communities, despite the Government's intervention.Mr Brough said the Attorney-General's department was looking at ways to restrict cable salesman from selling their products, but he said the concerns of Aboriginal women lay elsewhere. During a visit to Alice Springs a few weeks ago, Mr Brough said he was surprised to learn that SBS was considered to be a problem. "The woman actually said to me their greatest concern of television type programs was SBS, believe it or not," he said.It is believed that pornography is still entering Aboriginal communities through rogue traders operating from Darwin post office boxes, selling unclassified and pirated x-rated films. Critics are calling for a licensing scheme for all adult movie traders in the Northern Territory, similar to the scheme currently operating the ACT. Asked if he thought that films were still making their way to Aboriginal communities, Mr Brough replied: "At $12 a DVD, yes I think they could, I mean it's extremely cheap." Mr Brough said he was surprised to learn of the problem. "I was disturbed to learn that you can sell x-rated material anywhere in the territory, even from your home if you register as a business" he said. "I just presumed it was like the ACT." Source: Compiled by APN from media reports
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