ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses recent trends in family life and relates them to changes in labour markets, the economy, family-related policies, government discourse and cultural ideas. It focuses on and compares families living in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The book focuses on national trends, certain topics require the investigation of specific provincial, regional or cultural cases. It also discusses the impact of colonial concepts of family on indigenous people, whose ideas about family structure and relationships differed from those of the colonisers in all three countries. The book shows how families in the three countries have changed over the past few decades and aims to understand the social and economic forces affecting these trends.
