Anderton pledges inquiry on family pressure

A commission of inquiry into the balance between work and family will be a top priority for the Progressive Coalition if it is part of a coalition government with Labour after the election, says party leader Jim Anderton.

Mr Anderton announced his party's pledge in his Beehive office yesterday over the blare of a television and the chatter of children enlisted to illustrate the competing demands on working families.

"It's the sort of environment that parents who are looking after children face and then have to decide whether work is an option for them or if it is, what they do about it and their family responsibilities," he said.

"It is not just an issue for parents alone or an issue for Governments in isolation ... A commission of inquiry will ensure the whole community starts discussing the issues and talking about solutions."

Mr Anderton said the balance of parental obligations, careers and contribution to society was something not adequately dealt with in any Government policies implemented so far.

Issues for the inquiry would include the position of sole parents, overwork and unemployment, family taxation, childcare, paid time off work and pay equity.

The commission of inquiry would include representatives of a wide range of different family types - from sole-parent families to double-income working families. It would also include social policy and taxation experts.

"It needs to be commissioned early on in the term of the next government ... This is an area that we believe needs to have some resolution in Government but it isn't just a matter of responsibility for the Government, it's a matter of responsibility for the whole community," Mr Anderton said.

He expected a set of recommendations from the inquiry would go to the Government, which would be responsible for adopting the most applicable and realistic.

The promise is the second of the Progressive Coalition's eight "cornerstone commitments" to be announced.

The first was its commitment to an anti-drugs strategy.

- NZPA

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