Reward people for staying married: group

Couples who say "I do" should receive federal government cash bonuses but the union
of same-sex couples should not be legally recognised, pro-marriage lobby groups say.
The Australian Family Association (AFA) together with the National Marriage
Coalition (NMC) are lobbying for August 13 to be officially designated National
Marriage Day.
AFA vice-president Mary-Louise Fowler says the date is symbolic because it's the
anniversary of the passing of the Marriage Amendment Act 2004, which defined
marriage as "a union between a man and a woman".
Ms Fowler said a national day was needed to recognise the effort that it takes to
stay married and form a family.
It was the government's responsibility to provide favourable policy for marriages to
work, she said.
"One innovative idea is the idea of a marriage bonus - if you become married and you
remain married for five, 10, 15, 25 years," Ms Fowler told AAP on Thursday.
"I believe we need to reward people who stayed married because of the benefits for
society at large."
But the groups do not support gay marriage and claim to be working hard to defend
the current definition under the 2004 Act.
"There's no such thing as gay marriage and the people lobbying for that are
unfortunately misdirected because it's a bit like saying two tables make a dining
room suite," Ms Fowler said.
"You need the complementarity for a marriage so we would never think of selling a
dining room suite that had two tables so two men or two women simply cannot be
married."
The groups say they want the support of both sides of politics to promote "a renewed
culture of marriage".
They would not comment on Prime Minister Julia Gillard's relationship status.
The Christian youth movement Restoring Integrity and Sexual Ethics (RISE) is also
backing the pro-marriage movement.
"In this sexually liberated society, girls have become sexual service stations for
men and they just end up getting used," RISE representative Judi Limbers said on
Thursday.
"We want to reach out to the disillusioned youth looking for something more."
The groups say their supporters will still celebrate the unofficial day adding
they're not spooked by it coinciding with Friday the 13th.
AFA describes itself as ecumenical and non-political while the NMC says it aims to
act as a "national clearing house" for information on marriage.