Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says as a stepfather he is offended by Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi's comments about "non-traditional families".

Senator Bernardi has written a book which sets out five founding pillars for a "conservative revolution".

He writes that the "traditional" family unit should be restored to prime position over other family types, including single-parent families, same-sex relationships and couples who have children born through surrogacy.

He says families with a single parent are more likely to have higher criminality among boys and promiscuity among girls.

Mr Shorten is a stepfather and says so-called "non-traditional" families work hard to provide a loving environment for their children.

"Cory Bernardi's comments on what he regards as 'non-traditional families' are offensive," Mr Shorten said.

"There are hundreds of thousands of Australian children who thrive in loving stepfamilies, blended families or in families with a single parent.

"On what basis is Senator Bernardi suggesting these children are more likely to be criminal - or is it just his own out-of-date prejudices?"

Senator Bernardi describes people who support abortion as "pro-death" and says political pressure from the left has "ushered us into a morbid new world".

He also says there is a dimension of the debate missing in the push for human cloning, in vitro fertilisation and surrogacy.

"[It] is the understanding that children come into families as gifts, not commodities," he writes.

"It is perfectly reasonable and rational therefore for the state, if it is to have a role in social policy and the affairs of marriage, to reinforce and entrench those aspects of traditional marriage that work, not undermine them and promote 'alternatives' which have led to social chaos."

Mr Shorten says describing IVF babies as commodities is "repulsive".

"Each child born through IVF is a special and unique human being," he said.

"As a father in a blended family, I reject Senator Bernardi saying that stepfamilies are somehow inferior."

He also said he believed the abortion debate to be settled.

"I believe the matters to do with abortion and the divisive debates are largely settled and I believe that in terms of women's reproductive rights a lot of these questions have been hashed out in previous decades," he said.

Abbott says views do not represent Government position

The Prime Minister's office has tried to distance itself from Senator Bernardi's latest remarks.

Senator Bernardi served as Mr Abbott's parliamentary secretary in Opposition until he was demoted in 2012 for a speech in which he said gay marriage could lead to acceptance of bestiality.

Labor has now demanded Mr Abbott disassociate himself from the views expressed in Senator Bernardi's book.

"Tony Abbott needs to explain to step-families, single parents and parents of IVF babies why it's acceptable that a member of his team holds these views," Mr Shorten said.

Acting Greens leader Richard Di Natale also called for the Prime Minister to condemn the comments.

"No matter how distasteful someone's views might be, they have a legitimate right to express them," he said.

"But those views have no place in a modern political party; they have no place in Australia of today."

A spokeswoman for Mr Abbott said Senator Bernardi is a backbencher and his views do not represent the position of the Government.

Bernardi says non-traditional families are 'tampering with tradition'

Senator Bernardi told News Breakfast the "gold standard" for children's development comes from having a biological mother and father who are married.

He says his book is about fighting the tyranny of political correctness and he says politicians must be prepared to discuss controversial ideas.

Senator Bernardi says his views are "enduring views" that are only controversial according to some elements of the media.

"These are traditional views that have stood the test of time and been developed over successive generations," he said.

"You can't tamper with tradition and not expect there to be adverse consequences.

"I'm making the case about why we should be preserving and protecting these institutions because I think they are important for the future prosperity of our country."

Senator Bernardi also laments the absence of religion in politics and its diminished role in society, saying it has left Australia bereft of direction.

"I believe that by stripping God and religious principles from our culture (and our politics) we have become a nation which does not know which port it is sailing to," Senator Bernardi writes.

He argues there are two great threats to faith, and specifically Christianity: the "green agenda" which he believes places plant and animal life above humanity; and Islam, which he says is fundamentally incompatible with the Western way of life.