Family Law
I’ve never been big on the view that the Baby Bonus caused a surge in demand for flat-screen TVs. It’s a pretty insulting suggestion that women would decide to pop out a sprog for a few grand in the hand, none of which would be spent on buying the things you need to look after a child.
But thanks to an off-the-cuff one-liner from Gerry Harvey some time last decade, the myth persists that government assistance for new mothers is producing a generation of square-eyed, neglected children.
Today, family law expert Patrick Parkinson has blamed “paying 15-year-olds to have babies”, shared parenting laws and couples living together without getting married, for the “traditional family” being in crisis.
Continue reading "You can’t send modern families into ye olden days" »
As the 11-hour Parramatta siege was unfolding on Tuesday, with a 52-year-old man occupying a lawyer’s chambers with his 12-year-old daughter, allegedly claiming to have a bomb in his rucksack, a remarkable discussion was taking place in real time on social media sites among Australian men’s rights advocates.
Knowing nothing about the personal circumstances of the perpetrator, the consensus among these advocates was that the man who started the siege had to be regarded as the victim here. The victim of the Family Court, the victim of a system skewed against men, the victim of a feminist conspiracy.
Knowing nothing about how the siege would resolve itself, and indifferent to the risk of harm to the 12-year-old girl, police and office workers, there was even a sense among these men’s rights advocates that the man was something of a hero. Poor bloke, pushed to the brink, someone has to stand up to the system. Here’s some examples, with the names deleted:
Continue reading "Angry men have never met a thug who wasn’t innocent" »
Latest 2 of 276 comments
View all comments-
Mark says:
Ronny Jonny- are you as simple as you appear to be? What I wouldn’t give to see your reaction to a woman coming at you with a knife or accusing you of abuse and have people believe it. You big tough stoic. Wanting balance and truth to be the guiding… Read more »
-
PlayonlineDF says:
Joins the us . You are waiting for hundreds of exploits in real time Best Online Game Quality embodiment of the atmosphere of the medieval world • Bright colors, refuting the established standards, ” Gray Middle Ages” • Innovative strictly balanced battle system • Finely calculated market… Read more »
It hasn’t been a good week for disaffected fathers. Most weeks aren’t. Since Mick Fox disrupted half of Sydney to protest his custodial battle, we’ve seen the shocking case of Paul Rogers, who fatally gassed himself and his daughter Kyla, while the awful case of Ramazan Acar goes through the courts. Read the gruesome details if you dare.
As we all know, custodial battles over children are the common thread in these and many similar cases. But why do men snap? At what point does frustration boil over into mass scale public nuisance… or even to murder?
Let’s take a small picture view and a big picture view. The small picture, with a focus on the ass that is family law, comes from Barry Williams, president of the Lone Fathers Association. The wide view comes from social analyst Richard Eckersley, who regularly measures Australia’s pulse through a thing called the Wellbeing Index.
Continue reading "When good dads go bad, and bad dads turn murderous" »
Latest 2 of 361 comments
View all comments-
Luke says:
You do not know what you are talking about. Your comments are so offensive to someone who is in this disgusting system Read more »
-
John Findlay says:
Said to perfection, this is what I and many others are going through. It’s the elephant in the room that is ignored until it steps on your toes. Support Mick Fox, KIDS FIRST ! Read more »
Six-year-old Naomi wants to kill herself after being repeatedly sexually abused since the age of two.
Her mother Debbie says the bright and bubbly toddler has become a violent and aggressive girl who wants to throw herself in front of a car to end her suffering.
Last week, I interviewed Debbie on Radio 2UE. It was harrowing. Heartbreaking. But instead of expressing sympathy, talkback callers were angry.
Continue reading "Child protection trumps rights of divorced parents" »
Latest 2 of 127 comments
View all comments-
Suzanne says:
The FLC ignores all the signes and puts children at risk constantly. My Child went to school and told a teacher that she hated going to her fathers because he offered his friend money to kill me and he drilled a hole in the bathroom wall to look at her… Read more »
-
Donna says:
Who are these “wimmin”? and I think you’ll find a lot of it come from bad parenting in general, not just “wimmin”... Read more »
Pay attention all parents before the Family Court and any parent who has come to the attention of the Police or community services. Here’s the deal: your kids’ rights trump yours.
Last week the Government got a report suggesting that some parents think that a system that respects a child’s right to have the benefit of access to both parents means that they have a right, an automatic and overriding right, to equal custody.
If I may abandon the normal strictures of politeness for the sake of kids having their lives wrecked by selfish or abusive parents - stuff that.
Continue reading "Getting tough on parents when kids come second" »
Latest 2 of 55 comments
View all comments-
Hona says:
We have 12 children, 9 male 3 females which has made us prime targets for those government body’s that think they know more about children then we do. All the people they have sent to our house never even had children of their own. Needless to say my wife and… Read more »
-
JB says:
“the best interests of their child, the community must do so” The Family Court, Police and community services neither have the best interests of the children in mind when they make decisions nor do they represent or are accountable to the community at large. In particular NSW DoCS is only… Read more »
The planned rollback of the controversial Shared Parenting Law is not an attack on men’s rights. Nor is it a victory for the women’s movement.
It is a sensible response to the plight of children like Darcey Freeman, who was allegedly thrown from the Westgate Bridge in Melbourne. Rather than getting into the he said/she said of this prickly debate, this is the story of one man – a war veteran - who believes his grandchildren are at risk.
His letter was part of a submission to Attorney-General Robert McClelland, which concludes “it is relatively rare for a court to make an order that denies a parent contact with a child, including in cases involving allegations of violence”. You can read it here:
Continue reading "Harrowing letter explodes the family law debate" »
Latest 2 of 72 comments
View all comments-
Jase says:
Lexi: To put the case forward for the rebuttable presumption of shared care is a simple one. The burden of proof falls on the one who lays the charges. There is no conflict to the best interests of the children; if the allegations are true, then the presumption for shared… Read more »
-
Melanie says:
No Eric, I’ve had the exact same experience and have tried to get help for badly traumatised children. If you could see how badly the little ones are affected by a disgusting cruel system, your heart would bleed. I’ve seen in, not once but several times, with several families. These… Read more »
The twin debates currently underway over marriage in Australia have at their core an arrogant and probably homophobic presumption that a miserable heterosexual marriage trumps a spectacularly happy fruity one.
Those who advocate the sanctity of marriage are unwittingly undermining the institution by arguing, on the one hand, that it should be harder for desperately unhappy couples to end their marriage, while also denying the wishes of couples who would be at their happiest if they were allowed to get married.
As a married person of some years, the whole issue leaves me cold, as marriage is the best example of an intensely private arrangement which is subjected to a raft of presumptuous external rules.
Continue reading "In defence of gay marriages, and ending bad straight ones" »
Latest 2 of 51 comments
View all comments-
UGG Australia Outlet says:
I will seek from my doctor’s advice.You can make it!He is ill in bed.In a word£¬I am tired of everything.The whole world knows that.How did the game turn out?How did the game turn out?A wet road is usually slippery.What do you think of this one? How about if we go… Read more »
-
Csw says:
How is “this same sex set up” an indicator of the decay of society? Ever thought that the point of gay couples was to adopt and bring up the kids that got dumped by their biological, heterosexual parents? Not saying it is the point, but obviously there are a lot… Read more »
A serious, if unintended problem has emerged from the last changes the Parliament made to the Family Law Act.
The changes were designed to improve shared parenting, but the safety of the child was meant to take precedence.
However it seems the courts are interpreting the changed law to mean that the right of the non-custodial parent to know the child or children is of greater consideration than the safety of the child.
Continue reading "Move quickly to fix the problems with child custody" »
Latest 2 of 3 comments
View all comments-
Jay says:
If you think a “tough on border protection” stance is going to stop an influx of Tamil refugees after the Sri Lankan government’s final military push then you’ve really got some serious thinking to do. I seriously doubt that refugees decide where they are heading to when they flee whatever… Read more »
-
Pete says:
I didn’t vote for him, but the best thing Howard did was to reform these arrangements. The current backlash from feminists is not about what’s best for the child, it’s a man-hating campaign that seeks to paint women as victims and man as abusers - never mind the rights of… Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
RT @ToryShepherd: Onya, @KRuddMP“@newscomauHQ: BREAKING: Kevin Rudd has come out in support of same sex marriage: http://t.co/CFaHrxyV5G”
RT @newscomauHQ: BREAKING: Kevin Rudd has come out in support of same sex marriage: http://t.co/2KEO6yEx5F
True Rudd style. Bazillion word folksy statement
RT @Rob_Stott: Like a lot of Republicans in the US, it's much easier to support gay marriage when you're no longer in a position to do anyt…
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
The Punch is moving house
Good morning Punchers. After four years of excellent fun and great conversation, this is the final post…
Will Pope Francis have the vision to tackle this?
I have had some close calls, one that involved what looked to me like an AK47 pointed my way, followed…
Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”
In a world in which there are still people who subscribe to the vile notion that certain victims of sexual…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Hasbro, go straight to gaol, do not pass go
Tim says:
They should update other things in the game too. Instead of a get out of jail free card, they should have a Dodgy Lawyer card that not only gets you out of jail straight away but also gives you a fat payout in compensation for daring to arrest you in the first place. Instead of getting a hotel when you… [read more]From: A guide to summer festivals especially if you wouldn’t go
Kel says:
If you want a festival for older people or for families alike, get amongst the respectable punters at Bluesfest. A truly amazing festival experience to be had of ALL AGES. And all the young "festivalgoers" usually write themselves off on the first night, only to never hear from them again the rest of… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
Superman needs saving
Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more
Latest 2 of 120 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment