- Shared custody "dangerous"
- 10/10/2003 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: admin ( 75 articles in 2003 )
The Family Court will today sound a strong warning against the introduction of formal joint custody arrangements between separating parents, saying it could lead to an increase both in violence and litigation.
The court's outspoken Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson was to appear before a parliamentary inquiry in Canberra this morning to offer his views on the proposal that the Family Court should adopt an assumption that separating parents should share equal custody of their children.
In a written submission signed by Justice Nicholson, the court warns that the proposed legislation could harm the interests of children. "If separated parents are expected to share their children equally . . . the legislation will create a normative standard which will be unattainable in practice for many, and which may jeopardise the best interests of the child," the submission says.
"A parent who has been living in a violent or oppressive relationship may be persuaded to 'agree' to a shared care relationship in inappropriate circumstances."
But Justice Nicholson's presence at the hearing was challenged last night by the Lone Fathers Association, the president of which, Barry Williams, said the jurist should not be allowed to give evidence.
"I think it's a breach of the separation of powers," Mr Williams told The Age. "He is a judge, not a law-maker and he had made it quite clear in the past that he does not believe men to be capable of looking after their children."
The Family Court submission rejected arguments - often advanced by men's groups - that the current system locks men out. "Sadly, it is not uncommon in counselling sessions for a counsellor to need to encourage parents (often fathers) to stay involved, rather than retreat altogether from their children.
"Counsellors and judges are also aware that increased contact may provide some parents with opportunities to control and harass their children and former partners."
In a personal note concluding the submission, Justice Nicholson said the Family Court was seeking to offer advice from its experience, rather than to direct the Parliament on how to legislate. But he cautioned the parliamentary committee to beware of the submissions made by interest groups. "The court's experience is that there are usually two sides to the story in family law matters and the situation is rarely black and white, but rather various shades of grey," he wrote.
The inquiry into equal shared custody was commissioned by Prime Minister John Howard after he was repeatedly approached by members of his back bench concerned that the system was failing parents and children.
More than a thousand submissions have been received, demonstrating the high feelings on the issue in an Australian environment where the rate of marriage breakdown exceeds 40 per cent.
The Family Court submission suggests that even having an inquiry raises the spectre of disappointment for parents.
"The raised expectations which accompany inquiries and the amendment process inevitably produce a groundswell of hostility towards the court and the Parliament, because in many cases the expectations cannot be met."
The court's outspoken Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson was to appear before a parliamentary inquiry in Canberra this morning to offer his views on the proposal that the Family Court should adopt an assumption that separating parents should share equal custody of their children.
In a written submission signed by Justice Nicholson, the court warns that the proposed legislation could harm the interests of children. "If separated parents are expected to share their children equally . . . the legislation will create a normative standard which will be unattainable in practice for many, and which may jeopardise the best interests of the child," the submission says.
"A parent who has been living in a violent or oppressive relationship may be persuaded to 'agree' to a shared care relationship in inappropriate circumstances."
But Justice Nicholson's presence at the hearing was challenged last night by the Lone Fathers Association, the president of which, Barry Williams, said the jurist should not be allowed to give evidence.
"I think it's a breach of the separation of powers," Mr Williams told The Age. "He is a judge, not a law-maker and he had made it quite clear in the past that he does not believe men to be capable of looking after their children."
The Family Court submission rejected arguments - often advanced by men's groups - that the current system locks men out. "Sadly, it is not uncommon in counselling sessions for a counsellor to need to encourage parents (often fathers) to stay involved, rather than retreat altogether from their children.
"Counsellors and judges are also aware that increased contact may provide some parents with opportunities to control and harass their children and former partners."
In a personal note concluding the submission, Justice Nicholson said the Family Court was seeking to offer advice from its experience, rather than to direct the Parliament on how to legislate. But he cautioned the parliamentary committee to beware of the submissions made by interest groups. "The court's experience is that there are usually two sides to the story in family law matters and the situation is rarely black and white, but rather various shades of grey," he wrote.
The inquiry into equal shared custody was commissioned by Prime Minister John Howard after he was repeatedly approached by members of his back bench concerned that the system was failing parents and children.
More than a thousand submissions have been received, demonstrating the high feelings on the issue in an Australian environment where the rate of marriage breakdown exceeds 40 per cent.
The Family Court submission suggests that even having an inquiry raises the spectre of disappointment for parents.
"The raised expectations which accompany inquiries and the amendment process inevitably produce a groundswell of hostility towards the court and the Parliament, because in many cases the expectations cannot be met."
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