Families
Care needed using historical data
Families and changes in the nature of families form a central component of a great deal of social and economic policy. Unfortunately, very few historical data series are directly comparable. Extreme care is required whenever trends in family data are required.
Changing nature of families and the problem of definition
Traditionally in New Zealand it has been the norm to define families as though they follow the perceived Western European norm referred to as the nuclear family – ie one husband, one wife and may include one or more children – living in a single household. The definition of family has been extended in recent decades to include other partnerships and, more recently still, same-sex partnerships.
What is a New Zealand family?
Families increasingly do not fit the norm of the Western nuclear family, and perhaps never did so in practice. Of particular importance for New Zealand, this model does not fit the Māori concept of whānau – an untranslatable term which overlaps to varying degrees with the concepts of extended family and community.
The inappropriateness of translating the term 'whānau' as 'family' was recognised very early in New Zealand history, with Williams noting as early as 1844 that "it is questionable whether the Māori had any real conception of the family [in the English sense] as a unit" (Williams, 1985 7th edition: 487).
Despite this warning, most population analysis has not made this distinction and continues to fail to recognise that the concept of whānau finds resonance in the cultural norms among both Pacific and Southeast Asian communities, which have similar social networks and related histories.
Family within more than one household
The definition of family as a social entity within a household (which, in the population census, for example, is operationally equivalent to an individual dwelling) has an increasingly important limitation. Many families extend across more than one household.
A common scenario is for children of a family to be shared between parents who do not live together. There are a growing number of non-cohabiting partners. A family may include members other than children who have more than one usual address for a range of reasons. This diversity is difficult to reflect in data collections.
Extended families
Rudimentary attempts have been made to collect information on extended families in the census. The difficulty in coding extended families is purely practical: the amount of information required to do so effectively is very large, and as a self-administered survey, the census needs to minimise the amount of effort asked of those completing it.
Legal definitions of family
For some purposes a family may not be recognised in legislation – for example, same-sex couples do not have the same eligibility to some benefits as opposite-sex couples, and widows have access to support services not available to widowers.
Legislative change
The Government is currently considering legislation to recognise the legal equivalence of long-term partnerships and legal marriage. This change would provide a framework for people in informal partnerships (previously referred to as de facto) to formalise their partnerships. Informal partnerships include same-sex couples as well as opposite-sex couples.
References
Jacobsen V, Fursman L and others (2004). Theories of the family and policy, Treasury, Wellington.
Williams H (1987 7th edition [1917]). A Dictionary of the Maori Language, Government Printer, Wellington.
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