Ireland’s vision for family is one we should also promote

Last month Irish voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to erase motherhood and marriage as the foundation of family from their constitution.

We reported on this at the time but it is worth circling back.

The pro-mother and pro-marriage words that have been preserved are inspirational and should encourage Australia to be more proactive in protecting them.

Here’s what Ireland’s constitution says:

THE FAMILY

ARTICLE 41

1     1° The State recognises the Family as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society, and as a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law.

2° The State, therefore, guarantees to protect the Family in its constitution and authority, as the necessary basis of social order and as indispensable to the welfare of the Nation and the State.

2     1° In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.

2° The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.

3     1° The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack.

Imagine if Australians had the chance to vote on such pro-family measures.

The March referendum, put forward by the government and supported by elites sought to erase the reference to mothers and marriage as the foundation of family.

Here are the proposals:

This proposal was defeated resoundingly with a 67 per cent No vote.

Here’s the second proposal:

This proposal was trounced by an even bigger margin with 74 per cent voting No.

Sadly most politicians don’t know what a woman is but Irish voters proved mainstream people understand that gender matters to children, that mothers should have real choices about how they care for their children and that marriage is the bedrock of family.

Family First believes this is true of Australians and that’s why a political movement to give voice to these values is being raised.

Lyle Shelton is National Director of the Family First Party. He started his career as a rural journalist before being elected as a member of the Toowoomba City Council and serving the Australian Christian Lobby for 10 years, half of that decade as ACL's Managing Director. He was a Director and spokesman for the Coalition for Marriage during the 2017 postal survey campaign which resulted in the legal undefinition of marriage. He also blogs here.