Bob McCoskrie from Family First Prime Minister John Key and Labour Leader Phil Goff will today be grilled by the self-styled spokesman for New Zealand families at a conference which brings together the conservative Christian right. More than 220 delegates representing more than 85 family-focused organisations and groups are gathering in at the Life Church in the Auckland suburb of Mangere today for the sixth annual NZ Forum on the Family, hosted by Family First NZ. Key and Goff will be individually interviewed by Family First National Director Bob McCoskrie "on their family-based policies as well as their personal principles and values which drive their desire to lead the country". Family First is against gay marriage, which it has described as "social engineering" and gay adoption, because it claims "children deserve better". "There are many family focused organisations who, along with their thousands of members, are concerned about the effects of family breakdown, the binge drinking culture, the sexualisation of children in the media and marketing, the undermining of parental authority, pro-life issues, the harm of long term welfare dependency on families, increasing levels of violence, and a society which is becoming increasingly counter-cultural to the role of parents and the safety of children and families," McCoskrie said before the conference. Jim Wallace from the fiercely anti-gay Australian Christian Lobby is among the guest speakers, just months after sending out an ANZAC Day tweet: "Just hope that as we remember Servicemen and women today we remember the Australia they fought for - wasn't gay marriage and Islamic!" The ACL was behind the recent campaign which saw the brief removal of safe-sex ads showing two men hugging from bus shelters in Brisbane. McCoskrie says it will be one the group's largest Forums and it is significant that so many family groups are coming together in the lead up to the general election in November. "It is a strong message that the welfare and protection of families is high on the agenda and these issues cannot be ignored," he says. Organisations represented at the gathering include Family First NZ, Sensible Sentencing Trust, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust, Open Home Foundation, Parents Inc, For the Sake of Our Children Trust, Voice For Life NZ, Families Commission, Royal NZ Plunket Society, Focus On The Family, Australian Family Association, New Zealand Christian Network, Family Life International, NZ Fathering Network, NZ Marriage Coalition, Homes of Hope, Drug Proofing Your Kids, Young and Pro-Life.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 8th July 2011 - 12:05pm