Family First’s Steve Fielding was at pains not to frighten the horses
when he made his maiden speech
yesterday – nothing from Leviticus on sodomites – but the Government
will find
much of it blood curdling. The speech was nice and tight. Simple,
straightforward effort. Unambiguous. He talked about the decade he grew
up in – the seventies:

“It was the era that challenged authority; at home, at school and on
the street, and an era in which a basic wage to support a family was ditched in
favour of a wage to support an individual. The Government’s financial support for families, especially lower
income families, is welcome. However the fact that this is needed proves that a
single income is no longer sufficient to support a family. Thirty years on from the cultural revolution, we can examine the
results. And they are not what many intended. Demolishing our traditional social structures has simply enslaved
us to the forces of the market,” he said.

Alarm bell one.

“Where once the labour market respected the fact that workers had
family responsibilities, today workers struggle to balance their paid work and
family life,” he said.

Alarm bell two.

This is a fundamental clash of creeds between Family First and the
Government. But creeds didn’t get mentioned much. Instead, Fielding went on to topics like
this:

“Sue and I are wealthier than my parents. We have been to more places,
live in a bigger house and have more gadgets. But does all this make our generation happier than that of our
parents? I do not think so.”

Fielding then ran through the usual list of social woes – divorce,
drug use, suicide – but then had a couple of new ones, like obesity and social
insecurity. Strike a chord?

It’s the perfect introduction to values voting. And, if Fielding can remain simple and
restrained, maybe the start of an interesting challenge to the big boys.