The Howard Centre for Family, Religion, & Society,
parent organization of the
World Congress of Families reports, that the newly appointed
Australian Minister for Social Services, Kevin Andrews has been a long time
advocate of the importance of the natural family based on marriage and has recently written an
article for its publication ‘The Family In America’
Mr. Andrews is a long-time member of the Australian
government, first serving as a member of the House of Representatives for the
division of Menzies in 1991. On
September 16, Andrews was named the Minister of Social Services in the new
conservative, pro-family Abbott government. In this role, he will administer a number of areas formerly
covered by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services, and
Indigenous Affairs, and will be responsible for what an Abbott press release
calls “the largest area of expenditure and payments in the Budget.” Andrews was
actively involved in World Congress of Families VII: Happy Families, Healthy
Economy, chaired by Mary Louise Fowler of the Australian Family Association,
held in Sydney, Australia, May 15-18 of 2013. He and his wife, Margaret, also addressed World Congress of
Families I (Prague 1997), II (Geneva 1999), and V (Amsterdam, 2009). A long-time WCF leader, he was
profiled in the April 2010 World Congress of Families News. Andrews also serves as a special World
Congress of Families International Ambassador for the natural family.
The summer issue of The Family in America was titled “Family
Policy Lessons from Other Lands,” and in it, Mr. Andrews laid forth his
comprehensive “National Family Policy Proposal,” adapted from his new book,
Maybe ‘I Do’ – Modern Marriage and the Pursuit of Happiness (Ballan: Connor
Court, 2012). His proposals are
based upon two principles: “First, public policy should protect and foster
marriage and family; and, secondly, wherever possible, public policy should
utilize the family and community organizations, rather than displacing
them.” To support such a policy,
Mr. Andrews puts forth four policy goals:
- “Nations should have an explicit marriage and family policy.”
- “They should seek to maintain at least a replacement birthrate.”
- “National policy should proclaim the ideal of marital permanence and affirm marriage as the optimal environment for the raising of children.”
- “The policy should value family stability and reinforce personal and intergenerational responsibility.”
