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State South Australia IncSave Our
State South Australia Inc
Dedicated to the preservation of personal freedoms, moral standards, honest responsible government and principled political behaviour for the people of South Australia
FAMILY LAW REFORM NOW
OR REFERENDUM!
No announcements by either Labor or Liberals in the upcoming election campaign has indicated that they have heard and listened to the cries of Australian children/parents/families to end the “Industry of Human Misery”.
Those who have been trapped in this insidious and life sucking cycle know full well that the only ones to gain from the current system are the family court lawyers. Families are destroyed and any hope for any kind of reconciliation between parents is destroyed once the proceedings begin. It gets ugly, it gets hurtful and it gets dishonest with parents fighting for the right to know their children are safe and protected.
The Family Law System then flows over to child protection which is a state issue and of course every state in Australia has a very poor record in getting it right. As Anne Johnson stated in her article “What’s right for wronged kids?” (Sunday Mail page 19 September 16th 2007) that government bureaucracies are “far from perfect”. So we have a Family Law system, a federal responsibility, that feeds off human misery and we have inept child protection, a state responsibility. Who exactly does protect the child and why do we continue to re-elect governments that refuse to listen and ACT. It is not rocket science to assume that reform is needed both at a state and a federal level. We all know how governments love to play the “state vs. federal game” and in doing so nothing gets solved.
The welfare of Australian children, parents and families should be above politics, shouldn’t it? Wasn’t it Peter Costello, our future Prime Minister, on the Sunday show today who said that he is about:
Economic stability
Job creation
Education
Future planning
And oh of course
Water
WHO CARES WHEN OUR FAMILIES ARE SUFFERING?
Someone should tell the Libs that if the basics aren’t right (the foundations) then the walls will crumble and someone should also tell them that the basic fabric of our society is the family unit. The math is 2 + 2 = 4, it’s that simple! In this world where a “harm minimization” social policy exists many will argue that 2 + 2 = 1 and they will try very hard to convince us of this. The only people who do not believe that the family is the basic fabric of our society were those who lived in the strange world in the book “A Brave New World”.
For more than 7 years now three simple amendments to the Family Law Act have been advocated for and for 7 years they have not been delivered. Who would oppose:
Rebut-able shared parenting so that should there be proof that one parent is unfit then shared parenting should not be agreed to in “the best interests of the child”.
Zero Tolerance of false allegations so that if one person is proven to be telling lies and making false allegations about the other it is a criminal offence. This is called “purgery” in other courts, but for some reason in the family court it just doesn’t count.
Duty of Care by all involved in the case.
How do we do this:-
Put the “Family Law Act” under the “Acts Interpretation Act” citing the letter of the law only in the decisions of the court.
Forensically tried and proven polygraph testing for both the accused and accuser of accusations made about a parent’s integrity, actions or ability to parent.
Strict policy & procedure guidelines indicating the “best interests of the child” for those who are involved in investigating the case or for those representing the children and parents in a court of law.
Abolish case law so that all decisions of the family law court are made on the evidence of that case and not on precedents or an individual’s interpretation of the Family Law Act.
Why would anyone oppose these amendments when family court lawyers not dependent on the system have given indication that they would solve 90% of the problems now faced by children, parents and families?
Who would be prepared to settle for “second best” where reforms are concerned if it is not going to put an end to the “Industry of Human Misery”.
Why won’t governments listen and act on these three amendments when families are literally being torn apart and 3 men a day commit suicide because of family law court decisions?
Why was research into men’s suicide stifled when children are losing their fathers everyday and are destined to grow up without the influence of both parents in their lives?
No matter how hateful the battle the mothers and ex-wives of these men would not want anyone’s suicide to be the result of an unjust system.
Mothers who refuse to hand their children over to an abusive father have been sentenced to 30 days imprisonment for breech of a court order. Why would a court make such an order if abuse is suspected as it only requires “reasonable suspicion” for intervention to occur?
For Democracy To Work We Have To Work For Democracy
Demand it because it is your right!
Dear Brian,
I am the author and the document is based on the many interviews and conversations I have had with those constituents who have been adversely affected by the Family Law court circus in S.A.
I have also been in communication with many organisations around Australia for information and examples of how this cancerous system is entrenched on both a national and internationl level.
It seems the USA and Great Britain's family law system is as dysfunctional as our own.
One has to wonder with all the lawyers who gradually weave their way into politics why this has not been addressed.
A lawyer told me personally that "when we see a family law issue or probate we rub our hands together. It is easy money!" and I guess that says it all.
"There is not Justice - there is JUST US".
Regards, Ann Bressington.