Families are the most beloved of all things by politicians. Next week’s budget, as all previous budgets, will talk about families – and mostly about ones in which people are working. The latest data on families released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that more than ever before, families have more than one income supporting them.
The story of families in Australia over the past 50 years is, much as with employment, the story of women. And it is striking how greatly things have changed and how what was normal in the past now often looks bizarre.
