Babette didn't bother to include single mothers in her hand-wringing over how hard it is nowadays to be a stay-at-home mum. Not a word about helping them out. Or is poverty the conservative's mandatory punishment for a woman who, by choice or necessity, has to raise her kids without a man's benevolent support? (Rhetorical question only. No reply required.)

Neither did she take into account the fact that women who stay at home with the kids will be the future prime victims of the Coalition's war on the aged pension. Or doesn't she realise (or care) that the longer a woman stays out of full-time work, the less opportunity she has to save for a self-funded retirement?

And doesn't she bother to take into account that, in today's real estate market and user-pays society, a double income is now mandatory in order to even raise a family at all (or to ensure today's mums and dads don't have to fall back on the aged pension in the future)?

And as for the implied assumption that one has to bear sons in order to fully understand 'real life' - well, that sort of thinking is more at home in those woman-hating cultures she so loves to berate.

Susie, well said. Use of Abbott's not son and his sister to add to the punch of the article are not in good taste.

I'm not a fan of the policy and I know the horse has well and truly bolted in terms of broken promises (at least as far as many people understood them) but I'd still rather not see another broken promise.

If Babette is struggling to work out where the male influences are in Abbotts life she could have a look at the list at http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Parliamentary_Handbook/Current_Ministry_List

Plenty of ambitious males there.

There are far better things Abbott could have done to help families but the PPL policy was the one he took to the election.

R0bert

Babette
You show an unusual disregard for two of the most important relationships in a man's life. A father and son relationship.
Tony does have a father and I can tell you my relationship with my father was the relationship that grew most over time and is consistantly the one that has influenced me more than any other.
The other are the relationships with my daughters partner. He has become my son. That is a delight and I am aware of the influence we often unwittlingly but positively exert over each other.
Tony has a father in law and is likely with daughters to develop similar important relationships with their partners, whether male or female.

Babette you as a woman need to learn of the existance and importance of these relationships to men.
You need also recognise that men who start families also benefit from the ppl.

You seem to think with a feminist bias.

Babette Francis has utterly convinced me, very grateful for her persuasive essay.

-PPL is a dead-end philosophically and contemptible for the majority of Australians who are disposed to vote for non-radical liberals like the ALPGreens.

-Western social policies are heading toward proper recognition of mums and dads and families. Demographic, strategic and economic doom caused by post-Communist left (Frankfurt School non-economic determinist 'cultural marxism') has left countries no option.

-It is regressive, short-sighted, extremely wasteful, and cruel treatment of the men and women who carry the greatest burden raising Australian citizens capable of ordered liberty. The ones who will actually carry the nation through time.

-Lets hope Coalition MP's rightly kick it to the curb.