More families needing emergency support

The welfare group Anglicare says it is noticing a growing need among working families for emergency relief and housing support.

The group, which has more than 400,000 welfare clients, released its annual State of the Family report at Parliament House in Canberra this morning.

Anglicare chairman Dr Ray Cleary says people are applying for its services just to make ends meet.

"Our agencies, day by day, work with disadvantaged people," he said.

"And in particular we have seen over the past few years a growing number of people who are in employment but are now feeling the stress of the current global economic scene."

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NSW in rights push for lesbian mums

The New South Wales Government wants a federal law amended so children of lesbian couples can seek child support if their parents separate.

State Attorney-General John Hatzistergos says co-mothers are not recognised in Family Court proceedings under the current laws.

Mr Hatzistergos says he will ask the Federal Government to change the Family Law Act to include lesbian parents at a meeting of attorneys-general this week.

"It's important that the laws be amended to ensure that these children are treated in the same way that children of heterosexual relationships are, so that in the event that the parents split up, there is an entitlement for that child to be able to seek child support from co-mothers," he said.

"It's important to recognise that these relationships exist and these children exist, whatever one might think about them.

"And bearing in mind those facts, it's logical to ensure that we have a civilised way of ensuring the economic security of these children."

The State Government last month expanded the rights of NSW children with lesbian parents, clearing the way for children from lesbian couples to inherit money from and receive workers' compensation on behalf of their non-birth parent.

The reforms allowed both mothers to appear on their child's birth certificate.

Every 2nd family nuclear in NSW

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) says the proportion of people living in a nuclear family has dropped to less than half of the New South Wales population.

The number of couples with dependant children has dropped to 48 per cent of 1.9 million families in NSW.

The statistical snapshot of NSW shows couples without children have risen to 37 per cent.

Lone person households are now more than a quarter of all homes. The ABS says that trend is partly fuelled by an ageing population.

Fourteen per cent of the general population are now over 65 years of age. In stark contrast, people over the age of 65 make up just 3 per cent of the Indigenous population.

The Bureau of Statistics says just under one in three Australians now live in NSW, even though the birth rate continues to decline.

Migration is the single biggest contributor to the state's population rising to 6.89 million.

But people in NSW have to pay the country's highest housing costs and the state's economic growth is slower than that of the national economy.

The state recorded a growth rate of 1.8 per cent between 2006 and 2007.

Unemployment has dropped substantially between 1988 and 2008, while household income has risen by 17 per cent in the last five years.

Rights win for lesbian families

The rights of New South Wales children with lesbian parents have been expanded under legislation passed by the State Government.

The law clears the way for children from lesbian couples to inherit money from their non-birth parent and receive workers' compensation on behalf of their non-birth parent.

It also allows both mothers to appear on their child's birth certificate.

NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos says the Bill is a big step.

"It means that the non-birth parent will have obligations to that child in the same way that every other parent has," he said.

"It also means that child will have the same relationship with the non-birth parent as they do with their birth parent."

Mr Hatzistergos says shadow attorney-general Greg Smith defied his own party in voting against the Bill.

"The Opposition is hopelessly divided on this issue but it's important to recognise that the vote was carried 64 to 11," he said.

"With Mr Smith being one of the few leading spokespersons within the Opposition voting against the legislation, he not only defied his leader but also the leader of the National party."

Emily Gray, from the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, says many Liberal MPs, who voted against the reforms, were confused about the meaning of reforms.

"A lot of that was stemming from the fact that they believed that fathers would be removed from birth certificates following these reforms and that's just simply not true at all," she said.

Ms Gray says the changes have been long-awaited.

"With 71 per cent of the Australian population now supporting equal rights for same-sex couples, it's about time that this equality came through," she said. "We're really happy that it has."

Govt to fund 75 family counselling centres

The Federal Government has announced that 75 new family counselling services will be funded this year.

There will be 25 Family Relationship Centres, which are designed to help families resolve their disputes without resorting to court action.

The Government says another 28 centres will provide services to help children whose parents have separated.

Another 22 early intervention centres will also be established to help prevent family breakdowns.