The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Is ex-Premier David Bartlett the father of the future? > Comments

Is ex-Premier David Bartlett the father of the future? : Comments

By Kristin Natalier, published 8/2/2011

Bartlett’s decision is a reminder of the possibilities of fathering but not a trigger for real change in the family-work nexus in politics and elsewhere.

  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. All
I have been doing 10 hour days (7am - 5pm) at a construction site for a new shopping complex. Most of the workers were doing 8-10 hour days, 6 days a week.

The ratio of men to women at the site would be about 100 to 1, and most of the women at the site work in the air conditioned offices, well away from the actual construction work.

Then came the rain and the cyclones, and work fell behind. So now they are bringing in portable lighting and working at night to get back on schedule. One plant operator did not sleep for 24 hrs recently, went home and was then called back to do a 2 hour job, and then sent home again to get some sleep.

Eventually the shopping complex will be opened, and women can wander through the shopping complex and look at all the new shops, but the vast majority will not have any concept at how it was all built.

They will also have no concept of the hours spent working in the hot sun or at night to get it built.

They will also have no concept of the number of men at the site required to pay child support, and the more they earn, the more they pay.

They will also have no concept of having to pay child support to someone, while having no say in how that other person spends the money.

The above is real, and very typical of being a father.
Posted by vanna, Tuesday, 8 February 2011 8:14:43 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
I didn't even bother to fully read Kristin's article for the simple reason that the author's title explains everything. What a stupid notion to compare a state premier with priviledges through the roof & money to boot with average fatherhood. Give the average father free generous superannuation & let him retire at 40 & you'll soon see a change in the quality of fathers.
Posted by individual, Wednesday, 9 February 2011 5:54:37 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
The fact that the State of Tas mania is about to go bankrupt and is a desperate financial position, would have nothing to do with his decision would it?
Posted by sarnian, Wednesday, 9 February 2011 8:06:32 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Changing the way we view work and family so that both men and women can participate in work and home (should they desire) can only be a positive step. As more men want to spend more time with their kids, maybe there will be more support for programs like job-share, part-time, work from home etc.

There are some jobs where that is not always possible but I reckon most jobs would lend themselves to greater flexibility. Being a PM or a Premier would probably allow less time for family than other roles but it could be managed with some creative delegating and sharing of the load. It is not an easy job for someone with a young family.

As vanna argues, there should be more women in the heavy end of construction as well - these jobs can be shared easily. However, women are not generally hired by builders - that is a prejudice as vanna highlights that needs to be overcome. I am surprised you would push for more women on site vanna, but I agree those opportunities should be there for women as well as men.
Posted by pelican, Wednesday, 9 February 2011 9:33:36 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
A surprisingly positive article from a sociolgist about men.

When men become fathers they all WANT to spend more time with their kids, but are forced by to increase their working hours. Bills to pay.

It's dads who struggle. Even a work-sleep balance is hard to have... and a "Work-Life' balance is a fantasy for dads. It's women who demand the luxury of a plesant work-life balance.

I live in one of Sydney's nice inner-suburbs, and it's interesting seeing how rarely I see women alone with kids on the weekend... It's always either dad, or the whole family. Looking at these men's faces they are happy, but tired.

Exhausted after dad's 60hr week in the city. On the weekends they are giving mum some time off, but when does he have some time off? Never.

It's no wonder that men are refusing to become fathers anymore. On Friday and Saturday nights Kings Cross is full of 'hens nights' but never do you see a bucks night anymore.

Men don't look forward to marriage and their mates are worried, not happy. Men are are more likely to say "are you sure about this mate?" rather than celebrate when a friend announces his engagement. They know that fatherhood is long years of long hours... followed by watching powerless as your children are fed to the divorce lawyers.

She keeps the kids, the house, she keeps 50% of your after-tax income in so-called 'child support' and she keeps you on a leash, as she controls if your kids can see you at all. No wonder men are Afraid of fatherhood.

Add to this school discrimination which results in only one third of University students being male, women have a real man-drought.

The sad result is the offices in the city are full of successful, professional young-ish women with barely a boyfriend, let alone a husband amongst them... Watching they careers advance, but missing out on the thing they usually want most of all, a family.

These women should thank feminism for destroying their chance of becomming mothers
Posted by partTimeParent, Wednesday, 9 February 2011 10:26:21 AM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Pelican,
"women are not generally hired by builders"

Sorry to disappoint you, but women rarely apply for such jobs. They have no interest in scaffolding, pouring cement or driving cranes.

When women walk through the palatial style shopping complex, complete with sky domes, internal fountains and giant hanging mobiles, most women will have absolutely no idea how it was built, and most do not care how it was built.

Similarly, most women have very little idea of how men make a living, and what it is to be a father in our feminist society.

An intertesting statistic emerging from the US is that single parent fathers work significantly more hours than single parent mothers, while spending almost the same number of hours looking after their children as single parent mothers.

Begins to make one wonder about mothers in a feminist society.
Posted by vanna, Wednesday, 9 February 2011 6:19:33 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy