Dangerous Families (36.8 kb)
Within every family grouping, including nuclear families and extended families, there are families which are dangerous. Family violence is highly destructive of the individuals who are its victims, and of family life. The most obvious symptom of this problem in our society is multiple family murder-suicides. However, the damage to individuals and society caused by family violence is much more pernicious than this. The greatest danger to children is not an unknown stranger, but their own parents and kin. Family violence is widespread. It damages self-esteem of its child and adult victims and their capacity to function and to relate to others. It is family violence, not the diversity of family groupings, which is undermines the fundamental fabric of Australian society.

 Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues: Inquiry into de facto relationships legislation (17.6 kb)
In 1997, the NSW Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia adopted a Family Ministry Policy. This policy values marriage and biological relationships, but recognises that for some people family takes other forms. The policy recognises the value of all forms of non-exploitative relationships in which people care effectively for one another.

 Submission to the Inquiry into the Family Impact Commission Bill (48.2 kb)
The major submission on the Family Impact Commission Bill on behalf of the Uniting Church will be made by Burnside, the child, youth and family support agency of the NSW Synod of the Uniting Church. This supplementary submission deals mainly with matters that do not come within Burnside's specific expertise, namely the appropriateness or otherwise of the bill's dependence on "the Judeo-Christian ethic" and the bill's reliance on mainly Christian organisations for nominations to the Advisory Committee. It also gives an overall assessment of the bill.

 A framework for family ministry: statement of principles (26.8 kb)
The synod offers the following statement of principles of family ministry as a framework for understanding families and their needs and developing family ministry. The Synod also acknowledges the useful and effective family ministry which is already being undertaken in many parts of the synod, and the range of material already available within the church to help parishes develop family ministry strategies. Synod encourages all parishes to make use of material on family ministry strategies available through the Board of Education, Burnside, and the Joint Board of Christian Education.

 Response to The Heart of the Matter (60.9 kb)
The comments in this submission are based on a range of policy resolutions adopted by the Synod, and also take account of policy resolutions of the Assembly, the national council of the Uniting Church.

 Violence in the family (21.3 kb)
What do we mean by family? In this statement, "family" refers to the wide range of relationships - married couples, married couples with one or more children , single parent with one or more children, de facto relationships, separated families, "blended" families where parents may have divorced and remarried and children may come from different parents, foster families and guardians - and the relatives of the people in these relationships, including grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins, in-laws or de facto equivalents.

 welfarereform (133.6 kb)