Then, it meant a man and a woman deciding to get married with the intention to be faithful to each other, have children and raise them in safety and security.

Has the world gone mad? Now men with men want to marry, women with women and call it marriage equality. This is with some expectation that children will come along somehow. Remember the saying “two’s company, three’s a crowd”?

It seems that the negotiation of same sex couples to include a third person negates any thought of giving the resulting child the care and control of a mum and dad.

I want to record my sadness that we are being bombarded by negative messages from the ABC and other media about the long-held values of the sanctity of marriage.

There will never even be “marriage equality” when we honestly examine the question.

Channel 9 and others present curious shows, pretending to break new ground by calling a show Married At First Sight. Pure rubbish.

Sure, I am biased, having had the good fortune of learning about marriage from my parents and from the clean teaching of Christian faith.

I have had the wonderful privilege of presiding over 300 weddings. Bring on the plebiscite, let the Australian people speak.

No, Mr Shorten, I do not speak on this subject after emerging from some rock and I don’t speak with hatred.

The only rock I know is the clean teaching of scripture.

OCTOBER is Mental Health Month, and it is over this month that we put extra emphasis on understanding and recognising mental health issues. 

Although it is important to reflect in this month, I implore everyone to extend their reflection outside of October. 

The signs of mental health issues can be hard to detect or even deliberately hidden, therefore mental health awareness should be something we think about on a day-to-day basis.

This year’s theme for Mental Health Month is “Learn and Grow”.

My organisation, Youth Off The Streets, has, and always will, encourage our young people to constantly learn about recognising and coping with various mental health issues. 

Our services provide psychologists, counsellors and trained youth workers to give our young people the best possible support that they so desperately need, but we still cannot reach every affected young Australian.

I have dedicated my life to helping the disadvantaged youth of Australia turn their lives around, and as such I have seen many of our youth struggle with a broad spectrum of mental illnesses. 

These illnesses are severely affecting our youth with a significant number of cases developing into long-term issues or even resulting in suicide.

Without continuous care and support, our young people run the risk of developing these long-term issues and this is simply not something we can allow to happen. 

Using this opportunity to tackle mental health issues in young people is crucial, as giving young people support and coping mechanisms in such a transitional period of their life sets them up for a successful future.

Youth Off The Streets has, and always will, advocate for our young people in their battle with mental health issues. 

However, in this month I am calling for more to be done. I ask that we take this Mental Health Month as an opportunity to grow as a nation and stand by our young people.