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Governor-General must clarify stance on children's right to their mother and father

Family First Party

Family First National Director and NSW Legislative Council candidate Lyle Shelton has called on the Governor-General Sam Mostyn to urgently clarify her position on the fundamental rights of children — including whether every child, wherever possible, deserves both their mother and a father.

 

Mr Shelton said the Governor-General’s ongoing role as co-patron of Equality Australia raised serious concerns about her alignment with policies that prioritise adult desires over children’s needs.

 

“Equality Australia is actively advocating for ‘pathways to parenthood’ that deliberately create situations where children are denied either the love of their mother or their father,” Mr Shelton said.

 

“Every child has a natural right, wherever possible, to be raised by the man and woman who brought them into the world.”

 

Mr Shelton said while tragedies such as death, separation or abandonment can mean children grow up without one parent, this is very different from public policy that intentionally removes a mother or father from a child’s life.

 

“Children sometimes miss out on a mum or a dad because of heartbreaking circumstances beyond anyone’s control,” he said.

 

“But a compassionate and just society does not deliberately design systems that deprive children of their mother or father simply to satisfy the lifestyle choices of adults.

 

“That is the key moral line — and it is one Equality Australia is lobbying governments to cross.”

 

Mr Shelton warned that Equality Australia’s advocacy for surrogacy law reform raised serious ethical concerns about the potential exploitation of women and children.

 

“Equality Australia has been pushing for changes to surrogacy laws through both federal and New South Wales parliamentary inquiries that would expand access to commercial-style arrangements,” he said.

 

“This risks creating a system where vulnerable women are pressured or incentivised to carry babies on behalf of others — including two men — effectively turning pregnancy into a service.

 

“That is not compassion. That is the creation of a rental market in women’s wombs and a cash market for human babies.”

 

Mr Shelton said the Governor-General, as the nation’s highest constitutional office holder, must remain above political and ideological activism.

 

“It is entirely inappropriate for the Governor-General to lend her name and authority to an organisation advocating for contested social policies that fundamentally redefine parenthood and children’s rights,” he said.

 

Mr Shelton also renewed concerns about Ms Mostyn’s co-patronage of Equality Australia alongside the radical LGBTIQA+ drag queen Shane Jenek.

 

“The Governor-General’s office must be a symbol of unity and impartiality, not aligned with political activism or radical cultural agendas,” he said.

 

“Australians deserve to know: does the Governor-General believe it is acceptable to deliberately deny a child their natural mother so two men can acquire a baby? Or to deny a child their father so two women can do the same?

 

“These are not abstract questions. They go to the heart of what kind of society we are becoming — and whether children’s rights still come first.”

 

Mr Shelton said Family First would continue to advocate for policies that uphold the rights and wellbeing of children above all else.

 

“Kids are not commodities. They are not entitlements. They are human beings with inherent rights,” he said.

 

“The Governor-General must now make her position clear — and she should immediately sever ties with Equality Australia to preserve the integrity of her office.”

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