The contribution mothers make to the well-being of the community and the economy should never be overlooked, Premier Carmen Lawrence said today.
At the opening of `Mothering Week', Dr Lawrence said it had been estimated that the unpaid efforts of home-makers contributed the equivalent of $90 billion annually to the national economy.
"Yet this contribution is seldom recognised by either the home-makers themselves or the wider community," she said.
"It is no accident that mothering is often referred to as a `labour of love'. There is little training, recognition or monetary reward for women undertaking the considerable tasks required to care for a children."
Dr Lawrence said the lack of proper recognition of family carers was a major finding of last year's Community and Family Commission study.
"The Government acknowledges that people in the unpaid workforce are not accorded the same respect or recognition as those in the paid workforce even though child-rearing requires a diverse range of skills," she said.
"Proper recognition and respect for these people is long overdue."
