Family Law Reform Coalition in Sydney, Australia | Non-governmental organisation (NGO)

Family Law Reform Coalition

Locality: Sydney, Australia

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25.01.2022 If you don't think children can be psychologically and abusively manipulated by their parents (or others they trust) to say and do extraordinary things - hating, rejecting or even killing a parent they love - maybe this story is for you ...

25.01.2022 The Family Law Reform Coalition's campaign to make family courts less secret and more accountable is gathering momentum. [The Australian, page 2, 24 Feb]

25.01.2022 Our submission (submission number 597) to the Joint Family Law Inquiry can now be downloaded from the Parliament House website.

25.01.2022 Is now the time to change the way Family Courts operate? Electronic lodgement of affidavits. JP's no longer required to witness documents (you can currently swear an oath on the phone or online at the time of hearing). These are things that could have been done 20 years ago. Whilst we believe changes in law are necessary to re-imagine family separation, COVID-19 is giving us a window to force procedural change. ... What operational changes do you think need to be made to courts?

25.01.2022 The West Australian: letter to the editor following announcement of inquiry into child murders

25.01.2022 WA Attorney General considers public inquiry into the murders of Aaron Cockman's children, in response to pressure from the Family Law Reform Coalition and its partners.

25.01.2022 Gibraltar TV: worth watching! Significant discussion about what it's like for separating families in Gibraltar (British territory, southern tip of Spain), well hosted by Ros Astengo of GBC. Eloquent contribution by Danny Feetham MP, former Minister for Justice, talking about the "ingrained cultural chip" in family law that results in outcomes not in children's best interests.... Also, Gib Guardians on the extreme situation in Gibraltar where "non-resident" parents struggle to find a home in this small outpost of Britain. Good Egg Safety #gbcViewpoint Everywhere around the globe, it seems, would benefit from the non-legal, health-focused approach to family separation that we and our partners advocate, For Kids Sake.

24.01.2022 Please watch and share this short video. We think it's a valuable way to illustrate changes that are needed to our harmful family law systems - and to recognise how long this will take.

24.01.2022 SPECIAL INQUIRY INTO FAMILY MURDERS ANNOUNCED TODAY There will be no inquest into the murder of Aaron Cockman's children and family, the WA Attorney General John Quigley has just announced in Perth. But, as a direct result of strong lobbying from the FLRC and our partners, there will, instead, be a special parliamentary inquiry in WA into what happened and how the system should be changed. It will be established next month, following input into its terms of reference from Aar...on Cockman and his family. Please consider supporting the work that For Kids Sake and aaron4kids foundation continue to do to make change happen, via aaron4kids.org.

23.01.2022 Mum ordered to pay $80,000 to dad after using false abuse allegations to keep child away from him. "It's not only contrary to the [child's] well-being," said the Israeli judge, "it is illegal."

23.01.2022 Family Law Committee not asking the right questions. After a week of public hearings it is clear that the Joint Committee is making little headway into understanding the problems caused by the current family law system. Most of the members seem to have entrenched views and are asking questions designed to validate their views, as opposed to actually gaining insight. To date, only Kevin Andrews and Dr Fiona Martin have asked questions designed to try and extract useful informa...tion. In what was supposed to be a people's forum, for ordinary mums and dads, there seems to be a large number of corporate legal and government funded legal entities taking up all of the time. Special mentions to organisations that bucked this trend and asked the committee to consider things other than the usual narratives we hear: Dispute Management Australia EMMM Foundation For Kids Sake

23.01.2022 Australian Senate backs merger of Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court.

23.01.2022 Is now the time to change the way Family Courts operate? Electronic lodgement of affidavits. JPs no longer required to witness documents (you can currently swear an oath on the phone or online at the time of hearing). These are things that could have been done 20 years ago. Whilst we believe changes in law are necessary to re-imagine family separation, COVID-19 is giving us a window to force procedural change. ... What operational changes do you think need to be made to courts?

23.01.2022 WA Coroner chooses not to look for root causes or factors that may have contributed to family murders. Instead, in a particularly amateurish diagnosis, the Coroner implies that that "depression" or "anxiety" may have contributed. Family Court escapes censure despite having been responsible for the children's living arrangement which led directly to their deaths. #StandUp4Kids

22.01.2022 "The merger of the Family and Federal courts is the biggest risk to the lives of women and children this country has ever seen," says Sydney Morning Herald columnist. What?! An administrative merger of two courts is somehow meant to be "catastrophic"? What, relative to the job the courts do already, for instance? It's not the proposed merger that's the problem here. It's the courts themselves!

22.01.2022 The Future is Here: Trial by Skype. Is this a good thing? We'd like to hear your thoughts.

22.01.2022 UK: Government considering inclusion of "parental alienation" in its new domestic abuse legislation.

22.01.2022 No, ABC, the assumption is currently not that parents will share custody 50-50 after splitting up. Its merely that both parents will share in decision-making - a presumption that many people consider reasonable. Australia does not have any presumption of shared parenting in its laws. And, Mr Perrett, why is a member of a parliamentary committee (into family law) pre-empting and undermining the outcome of that inquiry? The whole purpose of that inquiry was to try to rea...ch consensus on this overly politicised issue. Australian families were relying upon you to be an objective, team player. What, in all events, is the evidence that removing this one little presumption in Australias Family Law Act will do anything to protect women and their children? Answer, there is none. This Bill, sadly, is not about protecting anything other than one politicians image and ideology. There are other, much better ways to protect women, men and, above all, children when families split up - and they include keeping them all as far away from the family law system as possible. Families and their kids need #SupportNotCourt For Kids Sake.

22.01.2022 Federal Circuit Court Media Release: "There are potentially very serious impacts on families if there are extended delays in dealing with family law matters, particularly cases relating to parenting and the living arrangements of children, and cases involving issues of risk and family violence." The courts have just acknowledged their Standard Operating Procedures are dangerous to children.

22.01.2022 'It's up to separated parents to act reasonably in the COVID crisis.' Family Court Chief Justice Alstergren continues his media circuit to try to show that family courts are not irrelevant and powerless so long as COVID is with us.

21.01.2022 Editorial, The West Australian, 28 Oct 2020: Karen Clarke, For Kids Sake Ambassador, makes "a lot of sense": "Tragically, Aaron's weren't the first kids to be murdered after a family separation that involved family court proceedings and, unless we look at the root causes of these murders, and at all factors that contribute to them, they won't be the last." aaron4kids foundation

21.01.2022 We're sorry for all involved in, or affected by, this horrific tragedy.

20.01.2022 More than 25% of the named submissions to the Family Law Inquiry are from groups who profit from the industry. Its no surprise groups like the Law Council would want the inquiry terminated.

20.01.2022 Secret Inquest hides Family Court's failings. There will be no public inquest into one of Australia's worst family murders unless WA Attorney General John Quigl...ey intervenes and directs the WA State Coroner to do so. Aaron has today written to John Quigley MLA pleading for an open and transparent inquest that could help illuminate ways to avoid such a tragedy ever happening again. A secret inquest on top of secret family court proceedings is a recipe for disaster," Aaron said today. "It means that the family court will continue making life-threatening mistakes and we will never learn from them. Surely we should all want to investigate how we can better protect childrens lives in future?

19.01.2022 LAUNCH OF NEW VIDEO PROJECT! Today, were launching a new video project, with For Kids Sake and other Australian and international partners, to capture the forgotten voices of those who went through family courts or family break-ups as children or young people. Its one of the best ways we can show others what its really like. Please share this link and encourage others to take part. For the moment, its not the voices of parents we need to hear, its the voices of those eve...n more affected: children who are now adults and can speak for themselves. (All contributions will be anonymised unless personal permission and laws allow otherwise.) http://www.forkidssake.org.au/your-story/

19.01.2022 2020 is now seeing a predictable, huge increase in relationship breakdown. With a family law system increasingly unfit-for-purpose, and partisan politics preventing its reform, many more children and other family members will suffer major health consequences, or even die early, as a result. This needs to be recognised for what it is: like COVID itself, it's a public health crisis.

19.01.2022 Coroner's reports fail to explain why Aaron Cockman's children were murdered or what could be done to prevent such tragedies in future. The WA Attorney General has, this week, sought advice on whether he can direct the State Coroner to carry out a public inquest.

19.01.2022 On 25 June 2020, without fanfare, the UK got "no-fault divorce". One person can now choose to end a marriage without having to provide reasons. This is important advance because forcing one partner to put, in writing, reasons for the marriage breakdown previously created a great deal of acrimony or hostility for many couples. But, it's a myth to think that the UK (or Australia) now has no-fault divorce so long as family separation is administered by a family law system that's based on finding fault. This new Act brings the UK into the 20th century, but it falls way short of the non-legal, health-focused approach to family breakdown that we should all be demanding in the 21st.

19.01.2022 Proposed lawsuit against Judge. Anyone who has self represented in a family court knows the consequences of disagreeing with a judge - to do so means you night not see your children again. It's yet another reason why courts are the wrong model for families to separate.... Whilst he may be in the spotlight for his draconian decision making Judge Vasta is far from alone in his handling of parents in family court. It will be interesting to see how this play out.

19.01.2022 As mental health issues and divorce rates escalate around the globe, it's become clear that the impact of 2020's pandemic on families around the globe will last for generations.

18.01.2022 Family court secrecy is an "abomination", says High Court judge in UK (where secrecy rules are similar to Australia).

18.01.2022 Please watch and share this short video. We think its a valuable way to illustrate changes that are needed to our harmful family law systems - and to recognise how long this will take.

18.01.2022 GPS tracking of family violence offenders begins next week in WA.

18.01.2022 Latest family law review fails Australian families - again. The interim report, published yesterday, still focuses on the law rather than on providing children and families with the help they actually need. https://www.aph.gov.au//Family_La/FamilyLaw/Interim_Report

18.01.2022 What impact would it have on a girl to be given $10,000 on her 18th birthday by the Government and told it's because her dad abused her when she was younger ... when evidence shows that it never happened?

17.01.2022 Isn't it time for our family courts to realise that EVERY case involving children is urgent, instead of rewarding lawyers who know how to jump the queue by claiming 'urgency'? Isn't it time for the courts to understand that allowing a child to be left with an abusive parent or kept away from a loving parent can both cause lifelong harm?

17.01.2022 For Fathers Day, in the USA and many other countries, today ...

17.01.2022 "Within the next few decades, today’s family court outcomes will be viewed as repugnant as the segregated water fountains of the Jim Crow era." We could not have stated this better. "The vested interests who endlessly oppose a child’s constitutional right to bond equally with both parents often defend the indefensible by cavalierly stating, Divorce is complicated."... This is why we need a new model - to eliminate vested interests.

17.01.2022 LAUNCH OF NEW VIDEO PROJECT! Today, we're launching a new video project, with For Kids Sake and other Australian and international partners, to capture the forgotten voices of those who went through family courts or family break-ups as children or young people. It's one of the best ways we can show others what it's really like. Please share this link and encourage others to take part. For the moment, it's not the voices of parents we need to hear, it's the voices of those eve...n more affected: children who are now adults and can speak for themselves. (All contributions will be anonymised unless personal permission and laws allow otherwise.) http://www.forkidssake.org.au/your-story/

16.01.2022 Massachusetts says being prevented from speaking about your divorce is unconstitutional. In Australia, many organisations have told the Government that s121 of the Family Law Act does not protect children, including us, For Kids Sake and Australia's Right to Know Coalition. Hopefully at the conclusion of the current parliamentary enquiry, we will see some reform in this area. Children do not need to be exposed to the daily horrors of a less than amicable separation. However,... s121 of the Act does nothing to protect them. To ensure our laws are working, you need to shine a light on them.

16.01.2022 FAMILY LAW REVIEW PUBLISHES RECOMMENDATIONS Today, another Australian family law review hands in its recommendations to Parliament. It's making some useful suggestions, but doesn't come close to what our kids and families need. Some of its key recommendations are to give even more money to a family court system that's been harming our kids and families for decades, instead of adopting the different approach that's needed. Separating families don't belong in family courts at all.

15.01.2022 Every fortnight, a child is killed by a parent or close family member in Australia alone. We need to do everything we can to save these kids' lives - and not holding an open and transparent inquest in this case would be yet another tragedy. Mark McGowan Liza Harvey Christian Porter #StandUp4Kids #ForKidsSake

15.01.2022 HELP US STOP THESE FAMILY MURDERS The WA Coroner has conducted a secret inquest into the murders of Aaron Cockman's children and family and it will not be made public. But, if we care about stopping such tragedies happening in future, we can all share this post widely and write to the WA Attorney General at [email protected], copied to the federal Attorney-General Christian Porter MP at [email protected]. Here's an example of what you might say, in your own wor...ds: Dear Mr Quigley, My family is very concerned to hear that West Australia may not be holding an open and transparent inquest into the tragic deaths of seven family members in Osmington two years ago and we urge you to direct the WA State Coroner to hold such an inquest, in the national interest, under the powers given to you by the Coroners Act 1996. We must learn everything we can from such a tragedy so that we can prevent children from being murdered in future. We are particularly disturbed to learn that the Coroner refused to investigate the clear link between this tragedy and family court proceedings that established the living arrangements for these children that put them at risk. We agree with the grieving father Aaron Cockman's statement that A secret inquest on top of secret family court proceedings is a recipe for disaster. It means that the family court will continue making life-threatening mistakes and we will never learn from them. Surely we should all want to investigate how we can better protect childrens lives in future? Please ensure that a full and transparent investigation is carried out into this case so we can save other children's lives. Please let us know if you will consider our request. Thank you.

15.01.2022 More money for family courts. Capped fees for lawyers. Nothing that will effectively prevent the harm to children and families that family courts currently cause. Kevin Andrews MP presenting the results, today, of 18 months of "investigation" ... 29 recommendations to fiddle around with the current system instead of creating a better one ...... https://www.aph.gov.au//Fa/FamilyLaw/Second_Interim_Report See more

14.01.2022 Its up to separated parents to act reasonably in the COVID crisis. Family Court Chief Justice Alstergren continues his media circuit to try to show that family courts are not irrelevant and powerless so long as COVID is with us.

14.01.2022 The impact of these family court murders and bombings lives on today, not only in the families directly affected. Among the many legacies is the extraordinary level of secrecy (and the absence of scrutiny and accountability) that family courts, unlike almost any other institution or profession, are allowed to get away with.

14.01.2022 FAMILY COURT JUDGES: IMMUNE FROM SCRUTINY OR PROSECUTION Federal Circuit Court judge Salvatore Vasta's conduct may have been extreme and could make him the second court judge to be removed from office by the Australian Parliament (which, disturbingly, is the only way it can happen). But, is his behaviour entirely different from other family court judges, many of whom abuse their position of extreme power by treating parents with contempt, not giving them essential information or coercing them into making agreements they neither want nor fully understand?

12.01.2022 FAMILY COURT EXPERTS UNFIT FOR THE JOB This is not a one-off case; it's the tip of an iceberg. Most family court report writers, or single experts, do not have the qualifications or expertise we should demand of people our courts rely upon to determine the future of our children. And NONE are subject to the ongoing scrutiny, monitoring or background checks that should be mandatory. (It's dishonest of the Family Court to suggest otherwise.)... And, by the way, you can't just "quash" family court rulings. The kids have grown up, their lives already harmed. It's too late. Besides which, no parent would have the money, energy or mental strength to pursue this. ... Problem #4 on a list of 100 as to why Family Courts are #NotFitForPurpose. ABC News Scott Morrison (ScoMo) Anthony Albanese Christian Porter Mark Dreyfus Senator Nick McKim

11.01.2022 FAKE NEWS ABOUT DANGERS OF FAMILY COURT MERGER Australia is, once again, to have one family court. It won't help children or families, but it won't do any more harm than the current system. And it may, at least, save a few taxpayers' dollars and make the system a tiny bit simpler for a few people. Many lawyers, judges and some media outlets continue to condemn this "merger", complaining that it puts women and children at greater risk or means that decisions will be made by ju...dges who aren't specialists. This, though, is fake news. This reality is, it's the entire family court system that puts women, children, men and families at greater risk. And not one of the judges who preside over any part of this system are specialists in what's really needed to help and support vulnerable families and children.

11.01.2022 Romanian TV ad for co-parenting. Worth a look to see what can be effective in lobbying for change.

11.01.2022 With new legislation in the UK, Scotland, West Australia and, soon no doubt, across Australia, a wave of domestic violence legislation is sweeping across the globe. Trouble is, this all represents a too-late intervention. To protect everyone from all forms of family violence, much earlier, wiser interventions - including education and support for all who need it - are known to be more effective. Furthermore, the legislation rarely focuses on how children are most affected by family violence - which ranges from witnessing one parent physically hurt another, to being psychologically manipulated by one parent to reject the other, to losing a parent to suicide.

11.01.2022 Some lawyers are now agreeing that remote hearings are the way of the future. Maybe it will spell the end of lawyers billing clients for travel time and for parking when attending court...

10.01.2022 COVID lockdowns have increased the stress on many families and further demonstrated how family courts are unfit-for-purpose.

10.01.2022 No, ABC, the assumption is currently not that parents will share 'custody' 50-50 after splitting up. It's merely that both parents will share in 'decision-making' - a presumption that many people consider reasonable. Australia does not have any 'presumption of shared parenting' in its laws. And, Mr Perrett, why is a member of a parliamentary committee (into family law) pre-empting and undermining the outcome of that inquiry? The whole purpose of that inquiry was to try to rea...ch consensus on this overly politicised issue. Australian families were relying upon you to be an objective, team player. What, in all events, is the evidence that removing this one little presumption in Australia's Family Law Act will do anything to protect 'women and their children'? Answer, there is none. This Bill, sadly, is not about protecting anything other than one politician's image and ideology. There are other, much better ways to protect women, men and, above all, children when families split up - and they include keeping them all as far away from the family law system as possible. Families and their kids need #SupportNotCourt For Kids Sake.

09.01.2022 "I HATE HIM. I WISH HE WAS DEAD!" That's what a young girl says about her dad in this new, German film drama about a family break-up. Making films and TV programs that reach large and new audiences and raise public awareness of the lifelong harm that can be done to kids during family separation, and family court cases, is one of the best ways to start really changing the system.... "Because You Belong To Me" (2019) is a German movie that was seen by about five million people in Germany this February and, perhaps better than any film before it (in any language), shows how a parent can make a child hate a parent they actually love. Every family court judge, lawyer and psychologist needs to see this film.

09.01.2022 The legal system doesn't want the truth. In a remarkably strange decision, the W.A. State Coroner has decided there is nothing to be learned from investigating Australia's largest gun massacre since Port Arthur.

08.01.2022 FAMILY COURT EXPERTS UNFIT FOR THE JOB This is not a one-off case; its the tip of an iceberg. Most family court report writers, or single experts, do not have the qualifications or expertise we should demand of people our courts rely upon to determine the future of our children. And NONE are subject to the ongoing scrutiny, monitoring or background checks that should be mandatory. (Its dishonest of the Family Court to suggest otherwise.)... And, by the way, you cant just "quash" family court rulings. The kids have grown up, their lives already harmed. Its too late. Besides which, no parent would have the money, energy or mental strength to pursue this. ... Problem #4 on a list of 100 as to why Family Courts are #NotFitForPurpose. ABC News Scott Morrison (ScoMo) Anthony Albanese Christian Porter Mark Dreyfus Senator Nick McKim

08.01.2022 "Family courts cannot substitute their view of what's best for a child for the view of a parent, if that parent has not been deemed unfit." That was the significant conclusion reached, last week, by the Texas Supreme Court, stating: the fit parent presumption is deeply embedded in Texas law as part of the determination of a childs best interests. It's a great shame that it's too difficult for most Australian family court cases to get into Australia's highest court, the High Court - because they too would probably find the decisions of the lower, Family Court, to be against some of our most fundamental principles and rights.

08.01.2022 "Sweeping reforms" in the UK to protect victims of domestic violence in family courts. Criminal and family matters are to be more intertwined than ever. https://www.gov.uk//major-overhaul-of-family-courts-to-pro

08.01.2022 Our public awareness campaign to get an inquiry into the Osmington murders has, so far, reached over two million people, with the key message that family courts are so harmful to children that they can even result in their deaths. The actual inquiry into the murders of these four children and their family (which both major parties have now committed to) could be a game-changer in WA - and if the system can be changed there, the rest of Australia would have to follow. If you'd like to contribute to the work we do, please contact us anytime (via PM, email or website). Our thoughts are with Aaron Cockman and his family for what they've suffered, yet achieved aaron4kids foundation For Kids Sake.

08.01.2022 ONE COURT TO RULE US ALL! Well, it's finally happening. In a saga that's lasted almost as long as the filming of 'Lord of the Rings', the two courts that (in most States) deal with family matters will be 'merging'. It's really just a basic, administrative change and yet the Law Council of Australia, and others, have opposed it vehemently. If lawyers oppose even such basic changes, what hope do we have that they'll ever support any of the far more important changes that our ki...ds and families so desperately need? Senator Rex Patrick, whose vote is crucial, has a very polite way of calling out some of the BS: I’ve heard from those people [who oppose it] but I know the legislation very well and there are some claims around that, when pressed, people can’t back up. The Sydney Morning Herald

08.01.2022 Isnt it time for our family courts to realise that EVERY case involving children is urgent, instead of rewarding lawyers who know how to jump the queue by claiming urgency? Isnt it time for the courts to understand that allowing a child to be left with an abusive parent or kept away from a loving parent can both cause lifelong harm?

07.01.2022 Secret Inquest hides Family Courts failings. There will be no public inquest into one of Australias worst family murders unless WA Attorney General John Quigl...ey intervenes and directs the WA State Coroner to do so. Aaron has today written to John Quigley MLA pleading for an open and transparent inquest that could help illuminate ways to avoid such a tragedy ever happening again. A secret inquest on top of secret family court proceedings is a recipe for disaster," Aaron said today. "It means that the family court will continue making life-threatening mistakes and we will never learn from them. Surely we should all want to investigate how we can better protect childrens lives in future?

07.01.2022 While the Australian Government considers getting rid of the idea that both parents should share responsibility for their children after separation, Kenya bucks the trend - reaffirming both parents' responsibilities after they split up.

07.01.2022 An independent watchdog that monitors the behaviour of all family law professionals is long overdue. Thousands of children are being harmed each year as a result of the lack of scrutiny, feedback and accountability enjoyed by all professions involved in our harmful family law system.

07.01.2022 For Father's Day, in the USA and many other countries, today ...

07.01.2022 "I HATE HIM. I WISH HE WAS DEAD!" Thats what a young girl says about her dad in this new, German film drama about a family break-up. Making films and TV programs that reach large and new audiences and raise public awareness of the lifelong harm that can be done to kids during family separation, and family court cases, is one of the best ways to start really changing the system.... "Because You Belong To Me" (2019) is a German movie that was seen by about five million people in Germany this February and, perhaps better than any film before it (in any language), shows how a parent can make a child hate a parent they actually love. Every family court judge, lawyer and psychologist needs to see this film.

07.01.2022 The COVID-19 crisis will affect the mental health of many of us and create enormous stress within families. But, we've made it through another week. Maybe this short video will cheer you up for a moment ... Seriously, though, there's always Lifeline on 131114 if you need help or support.

06.01.2022 UK Government launches another family law review, in response to its recent Ministry of Justice report that suggests that courts have a "pro-contact culture" and are biased towards letting children spend time with unfit fathers. National Parents Organization Shared Parenting Scotland ICSP International Council on Shared Parenting

06.01.2022 "Children are under too much pressure to choose a parent following a divorce," says murder-suicide survivor Grace Cuzens who, as a 17-year-old, told the WA Coroner that "the Family Court completely failed us". "This is an issue that concerns each and every one of us. We are all accountable for what happened to my sisters; we are all accountable for what happens to every child in our community ..."

06.01.2022 If you never thought a lawyer could be cute, you need to watch this ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxlPGPupdd8&feature=youtu.be

06.01.2022 Live hearing now in Parliament with the Attorney General's Department (Family Courts) and Services Australia (Child Support) as part of the current Family Law Review: https://www.aph.gov.au/Watch_Read_Listen You will then need to click on Senate Joint Select Committee, Australia’s Family Law System (improvements in family law proceedings).

05.01.2022 How do we imagine we can stop children being murdered by their own parents or family members when it's against the law to talk about what goes on in family courts and when Coroners refuse to hold open and transparent inquests?

05.01.2022 "Your ex-partner has feelings and love for his son just as you have." Irish judge lays down the law, saying COVID is no excuse for denying a child time with another parent.

05.01.2022 Family Court Chief Justice Alstergren out selling the message that parents should be reasonable and flexible with court orders in the current crisis. SURVEY: If you've had experience of a co-parent being extra-flexible, or alternatively preventing a child from seeing a co-parent, as a result of COVID, please share a short para below (or via PM). Thanks. https://www.youtube.com/watch

05.01.2022 A message from Family Court Chief Justice Will Alstergren: 'if it was safe to do so, parents should communicate with each other and attempt to find a practical solution to these difficulties.' Well gee, that's simple isn't it. Just be reasonable and you won't need the courts.... One wonders if the courts are able to find a better way to show just how unfit for purpose they really are.

04.01.2022 "Family courts cannot substitute their view of whats best for a child for the view of a parent, if that parent has not been deemed unfit." That was the significant conclusion reached, last week, by the Texas Supreme Court, stating: the fit parent presumption is deeply embedded in Texas law as part of the determination of a childs best interests. Its a great shame that its too difficult for most Australian family court cases to get into Australias highest court, the High Court - because they too would probably find the decisions of the lower, Family Court, to be against some of our most fundamental principles and rights.

04.01.2022 For the first time ever, an Australian Government inquiry is to look at the link between family court proceedings and child murders. If WA were to change how it deals with family separation, and better protect children by keeping families away from family courts as a result, the rest of the country would have to follow.

04.01.2022 "Children are under too much pressure to 'choose' a parent following a divorce," says murder-suicide survivor Grace Cuzens who, as a 17-year-old, told the WA Coroner that "the Family Court completely failed us". "This is an issue that concerns each and every one of us. We are all accountable for what happened to my sisters; we are all accountable for what happens to every child in our community ..."

04.01.2022 COVID: its impact on separated families "It's not about cutting the other parent out. It's about keeping everyone safe!" says family lawyer Rebecca Bunney. http://www.forkidssake.org.au/children/covid-living-apart/

04.01.2022 COVID seems to have reminded some of us of the importance of maintaining family connections. A new survey shows that 'not seeing family' is the biggest cause of stress at the moment. Wouldn't it be nice if our family courts - which effectively cut children off from a full relationship with both parents in about 88% of their judgments - learnt this lesson too

03.01.2022 Remember how Angelinas accusations against Brad made headlines when the Hollywood couple split up - and caused him to be cut off from their kids. Now, theyre making international headlines again - this time, as co-parents. Isnt it time for lawyers and family courts to recognise how they contribute to driving separating couples into an escalating cycle of conflict, and sometimes violence - and to recognise that, with the right support at the right time, most couples can successfully create the new relationship that their kids need and deserve?

03.01.2022 Remember how Angelina's accusations against Brad made headlines when the Hollywood couple split up - and caused him to be cut off from their kids. Now, they're making international headlines again - this time, as co-parents. Isn't it time for lawyers and family courts to recognise how they contribute to driving separating couples into an escalating cycle of conflict, and sometimes violence - and to recognise that, with the right support at the right time, most couples can successfully create the new relationship that their kids need and deserve?

03.01.2022 To merge or not to merge! Some politicians continue to push the myth that family courts are somehow appropriately "specialised" ... though one could, perhaps legitimately, argue that they're quite specialised in causing avoidable, often great, harm to Australian children and their families.

02.01.2022 Children's lawyers wield "enormous power" in our family courts. Are they properly trained and competent to do so? The Australian ABC News Christian Porter Mark Dreyfus Senator Nick McKim

02.01.2022 WA Attorney General considers public inquiry into the murders of Aaron Cockmans children, in response to pressure from the Family Law Reform Coalition and its partners.

02.01.2022 Why would anyone not want to find out as much as they can about how we can stop children being murdered like Aaron Cockman's were? And, if family court proceedings are one of the leading common denominators - a much better predictor than gender or previous mental health issues - why would the WA State Coroner have refused to consider this obvious link?

01.01.2022 COVID: its impact on separated families "Its not about cutting the other parent out. Its about keeping everyone safe!" says family lawyer Rebecca Bunney. http://www.forkidssake.org.au/children/covid-living-apart/

01.01.2022 Coroners reports fail to explain why Aaron Cockmans children were murdered or what could be done to prevent such tragedies in future. The WA Attorney General has, this week, sought advice on whether he can direct the State Coroner to carry out a public inquest.

01.01.2022 Victims of crime and abuse deserve government support and compensation. But when the government makes payments to young people for abuse that didn't happen, it can cause 'enormous damage'. https://www.theaustralian.com.au//696eb61ece1ab39170e5159b