A SPIKE in the number of Australians who are divorced or in de facto relationships is contributing to slower economic growth and rising carbon emissions.

This was what Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews was planning on telling the controversial World Congress of Families conference in Melbourne today, before the senior government minister cancelled his opening address at the eleventh hour.

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Mr Andrews released a copy of the speech he was going to deliver to the right-wing pro-families conference, in which he says the “retreat from marriage has had profound economic consequences”, including a ballooning of welfare costs.

“The growth of a non-married and less child-centred society slows economic growth,” Mr Andrews planned on saying.

He also planned on citing US research which concludes the “separation and divorce has led to less efficient use of energy and resources and bigger expenditure on utilities, largely as a consequence of the increased demand for additional housing”.

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Mr Andrews yesterday cancelled his plans to deliver the opening address at the World Congress of Families conference, which will also feature speakers who link abortion to breast cancer and oppose homosexuality.

His decision to pull out of the event was triggered by conference organisers hiring an auditorium belonging to the hard-line evangelical group, the Catch the Fire Ministries, after a number of other venues refused to host the event.

Catch the Fire is headed up by controversial pastor Daniel Nalliah, who sparked outrage in 2009 when he linked the Black Saturday bushfires with Victoria’s abortion laws, but recently said those remarks were taken out of context.

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media_camera Head of hard line evangelical group ... Pastor Daniel Nalliah.

In a statement, Mr Andrews said: “Tolerance is a critical value in a western liberal democracy like Australia. It was for this reason that I intended to address the World Congress of Families meeting in Melbourne tomorrow.”

“Equally, I cannot support intolerance from other quarters. As I have been informed today that the event is now to be hosted by Catch the Fire, I have decided not to attend,” he said.

Mr Andrews planned on telling the conference that international studies show married men earn more, that married adults have greater wealth than their unmarried or divorced counterparts, and that the children of divorced or separated parents are more likely to live in poverty.

“As many non-married parents have little or no independent income, welfare costs have burgeoned. Many people who would otherwise contribute to the economy through their taxes, savings and investments have become dependent upon government for their livelihood,” his speech says.

He also planned on saying marital dysfunction and family breakdown “often leads to other social problems with significant costs to communities”.

Conference organiser Babette Francis said she was disappointed Mr Andrews would not be in attendance.

Originally published as ‘Divorce slows economic growth’