At a function I attended this week the Prime Minister described himself as a social liberal. The next day the NZ Herald reported a man had been charged with murdering a six month old Raumati toddler in July. It noted he “was in a brief relationship with her mother at the time of her death”.

The social liberals’ creed is that all relationship types are equal and must be treated as such. However while all relationship types may be equal in terms of our ability to choose them – they are not equal in the outcomes they produce for our children.

The social science evidence clearly shows our children are at hugely increased risk of abuse and death in specific family types. Mum’s latest boyfriend is the highest risk factor to any toddler. So how did we get a culture where so many kiwi kids have to deal with mum’s latest boyfriend rather than their dad?

We can thank the social liberals for that.

It is the social liberals who for years said marriage didn’t matter – it was just a piece of paper. They successfully pushed public policy to downgrade the unique legal, cultural and moral status of marriage. It is the social liberals who said family breakdown was not necessarily bad, just a reflection of greater “diversity”. It is the social liberals in our media who constantly push the concept of “modern family”. It is the social liberals who pushed Family Planning ideology into our schools. Ideology that normalises any relationship as long as it’s “safe”. Safe for who ?

I respect our Prime Minster for a number of reasons. Key has provided great leadership in times of national crisis. He has shown real conviction on the need to confront ISIS. He has generally proved a sensible economic manager, avoiding ideological sidetracks. He is a positive and engaging leader who likes people.

However if the Prime Minister wants to build a New Zealand where families are strong and children are protected, he needs to leave the ranks of the social liberals.

Ewen McQueen
September 2015