10 February 2002

Lack Of Information About Court Highlights Appalling Record

"The alarming lack of information about the Family Court highlights its appalling record", FARE spokesperson Darryl Ward said today. He was commenting about the Law Commission's disclosures of how inadequate record keeping had hampered its investigation into the Court.

"It is especially frightening to hear that data collection was deliberately stopped in 1990 because 'it would look so bad'. This single disclosure is enough to put the spotlight on the numerous allegations of ongoing corrupt practices in the Court".

"However, we are also seriously disturbed to hear Commissioner Vivienne Ullrich claiming that it is not possible 'to tell if there was a gender bias' in the Court. As a senior Family court QC she herself is well acquainted with how the Court works, and will know only too well that the major reason why more fathers do not initiate proceedings is that they know they will probably lose, and furthermore, do not want to subject their children to the systemic abuse that would result in the Court".

"The Commission's interim suggestions, which include a greater emphasis on meditation, fall well short of the mark. Nothing short of re-building our now morally corrupt family law system from the bottom up will suffice. Family law must be modeled around shared parenting, or preferential joint custody, to put an end to the disastrous social outcomes of our present regime", he concluded.

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