Not having children doesnt make you less compassionate In his wider than expected ministerial reshuffle, Prime Minister Tony Abbott promoted his tough-as-an-old boot Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, into an expanded portfolio of Social Services. Even before Abbotts press conference announcing the changes began, Twitter pundits were joking that Morrisons mantra would change from stop the boats to stop the bludgers. So it was no surprise that a journalist asked Abbott whether hed emphasised to Morrison that his new portfolio needed a dash of compassion. The answer that the PM gave was, however, totally unexpected. Well, he is a very tough and competent political operator but hes also an extremely decent human being, Abbott said. He and Jen [Morrisons wife] have two young kids of their own. He knows what its like to struggle with a mortgage. He knows what its like to be looking for childcare, for schools, for health services and all the rest of it. He is a very decent human being. QED. Scott has young kids, ergo he has the milk of human kindness running through his veins. Abbott unconsciously thus characterising Morrison revealed much about the mindset of not only the Prime Minister, but also of the political class as a whole. To them, people with young kids are the ones who matter most. Nevertheless, the PM unwittingly reflected on many of the journalists without children recording his words. He reflected on the circumstances of many parliamentary staff, including his high-profile chief of Staff, Peta Credlin. And he reflected on a very large swathe of the voting Australians who choose not to have children, or who wish to but havent succeeded. Theres no question that having young children is a great teacher of patience and tolerance. Parents learn quickly that there is more to the world than their own selfish interests and desires. They have to put certain other people – who in their early years are bawling, spewing, defecating and utterly selfish bundles of joy – ahead of themselves, increasingly until those wee babes become cuckoos in the familial nest, still living at home well into their 20s and even 30s, or otherwise bringing their dirty laundry back to mum as a personal valet service. And yes, parents mortgage their futures to their offspring. Last year the University of Canberras National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling estimated that raising two children in a middle-income household costs to the age of 25, before government subsidies include Family Tax Benefits A and B, children was $812,000 – and that was before the last Gillard and first Abbott Budgets. Thats a lot of overseas holidays foregone. Unquestionably, families with children deserve societys support. Family assistance, baby bonuses, childcare, health insurance and other subsidies are all justifiable policy because, as that great social policy analyst Whitney Houston once crooned, little children are our future. Those little tykes grow up to become parents in their own right and, not unimportantly, carers of Mum and Dad in their dotage. Furthermore, the kids of today become tomorrows taxpayers, who will support the wide range of welfare, healthcare, aged care and other community services that increasingly longer-living preceding generations demand. And if those future taxpayers dont have children of their own they, as now, will be expected to shoulder a greater proportion of the overall personal taxation burden than their parenting fellow citizens. Abbotts offhand comment reflected the political mindset. Politicians of all sides are told by pollsters that families with young children are a key demographic in terms of electoral clout. Most having children themselves (and how they ever find the time to conceive children is a mystery in itself), MPs eagerly subscribe to the political orthodoxy that two-parent, single-parent and blended families with children are the bedrock of our society, and investing heavily in them brings political as well as social rewards. But to assume that having children of your own confers an added gift of compassion and humanity is nonsense. Sadly, the scourges of family violence and child abuse are all too common in contemporary Australia. Shocking stories of abuse and neglect, and the stark, sober numbers of child protection statistics, bear tragic testament to the opposite reality that parenthood can bring out the very worst in some people. And just because you havent had children yourself doesnt make you a lesser human being. If anything, it strengthens your sense of understanding and empathy for others. It certainly doesnt stop you delighting in the company of children, be they relatives or beyond the extended family. It doesnt stop bonds of trust, love and affection forming between you and other peoples children. It doesnt stop you from caring for your own sick and elderly relatives. Above all, not having children doesnt stop you being a caring and compassionate member of society caring about other human beings and wanting to lend a helping hand wherever you can do good. As an active community volunteer as well as a dad, Abbott is well-placed to understand that. Indeed, its those childless people striving mightily against the odds to have children but, for whatever reason, dont get there who arguably get greater insights into the better angels of our nature. Their hard road to achieve an often impossible dream makes them even more patient, tolerant and understanding than those to whom parenthood comes easily. Prime Minister, you dont need children to prove your decency and humanity.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 21:25:37 +0000
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