Do you realise that there are people out there who live in sin? As in they carry on like they are married, but are not married. Some of these people even have children out of wedlock. I suspect that you are all as astonished as I am. Then, would you believe, some men have sexual relations with more than one woman at a time?* I have heard rumours that some women do that sort of thing too – but surely not.
Yes – there is a non-story on the front page of the Daily Telegraph.
CENTRELINK is ignoring Islamic polygamy, paying spousal benefits to Muslim families with multiple wives in an effort to save taxpayers’ money.
The welfare agency has revealed it refuses to collect data on polygamous marriages under Islamic law, despite the fact some families are claiming to be living in a domestic relationship with more than one woman when claiming welfare.
I suspect the moral outrage originates from this being described as “Islamic”. Like pagans and heathens couldn’t or wouldn’t do this sort of thing.
Here is Peta Credlin:
One reason offered by officials, confirmed by Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff Peta Credlin, is that the women might otherwise be able to claim the sole parent pension, which would cost taxpayers more than the benefits available to individuals in a marriage or de facto relationship.
She confirmed the former prime minister had demanded action in the last days of his leadership after Centrelink officials confirmed the practice was the talk of Centrelink offices in western Sydney.
“The answer I got back was to fix it could cost more. To be honest there was frustration about how difficult overall rorting in this area was to remedy,” she said.
“It’s not the role of government to police people’s bedrooms unless they are breaking the law but nor can it, through policy or indifference, sanction polygamous marriages.”
“By making welfare payments to multiple wives, we were accepting as a principle in welfare policy something that is fundamentally wrong — both at law and in our culture. Government should not be turning a blind eye,” Ms Credlin said.
So – a quick reality check:
The Islamic marriages do not break the Marriage Act because they are religious unions that are not registered.
In very basic English – this is not polygamy. The people being described in the article are not married. It is true that in Australia you can’t marry more than one person at a time. But as I understand it these people, under Australian law, are not married to anyone.
It is not illegal to have sexual relations outside of wedlock.
It is not illegal to have sexual relations with more than one person at a time.
It is not illegal to have children out of wedlock.
It is not illegal to share housing arrangements with other people.
It is not illegal to claim welfare if eligible for welfare.
Contrary to what Peta Credlin is saying there is nothing fundamentally wrong with what is happening at law. I’d go further – the welfare system is not being rorted. Individuals with children are either eligible for welfare or they are not. In fact, as the story is told, the government has been underpaying welfare:
… the women might otherwise be able to claim the sole parent pension, which would cost taxpayers more than the benefits available to individuals in a marriage or de facto relationship.
It is also not fundamentally at odds with our “culture”; Australia has a “mistress law”. Australia has “de facto” marriage.
The issue here isn’t that people live together, fornicate, and procreate. The issue here is that the government gives money to people to have children (very often giving money to people to have children that they can’t afford). The issue is that the government has created an environment where there is no difference between people who are married and people who are not. The government – especially the welfare state – has over several decades completely degraded and undermined the institution of marriage. So why now the moral outrage that people live their lives within the rules and environment the government has created?
* In a less delicate age people would be saying, “Onya mate” at this point.