Dunne: Who would oppose the family?

United Future leader Peter Dunne today said his delight at the introduction to Parliament of the Families Commission Bill was somewhat tempered by how far National has fallen from the days when it was a party for the New Zealand family.

"Listening to their attacks today was really quite sad.

"There was a time when the Nats could have claimed to have a real interest in the welfare of the Kiwi family. That obviously isn't the case anymore," Mr Dunne said. "Petty point-scoring is their lot these days."

And New Zealand First MP Dail Jones's attacks in Parliament were nothing less than homophobic, he said, with no place in an enlightened age.

Sue Bradford's criticism that families need money and not a commission, however, confirmed just how important it would be.

"As ever, the mark of truly good legislation is that the Greens are against it. There is no greater political imprimatur," Mr Dunne said.

© Scoop Media