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Australian Parliament Votes for More Fatherless Children

Equal shared parental responsibility after divorce has been removed.
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Australian Parliament Votes for More Fatherless Children
A girl waves as her father looks on from a park overlooking Sydney Harbour in Australia, on Dec. 29, 2021. Jenny Evans/Getty Images
Bettina Arndt
By Bettina Arndt
10/24/2023Updated: 10/25/2023
Commentary

Oct. 19 was a dark day in Australia’s social history—our Parliament voted for more fatherless children.

Labor’s draconian family law bill became law, removing almost every word from previous legislation which promoted children’s rights to care from both parents after divorce.

This brave new law sets aside many decades of international evidence showing it is harmful for children to grow up without both parents.

For almost two decades, Australia has been a world leader in encouraging separated parents to share decisions about raising their kids. That achievement dates back to John Howard’s path-breaking 2006 reforms promoting “equal shared parental responsibility” which resulted in a major increase in care from dads, more shared care, better relations between parents, and less litigation (pdf).

That mighty legal reform, which had bipartisan support, has now been totally swept aside.

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Labor hustled the bill through Parliament last week as Australia was distracted by the referendum results, after cutting short the usual extensive scrutiny required for such a massive change.

The process was fuelled by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who wrongly claimed the changes had the support of numerous previous inquiries.

As an example, Mr. Dreyfus justified removing the key “equal shared parental responsibility” clause by claiming it fooled daft dads into thinking that they might just be entitled to equal time with their own kids.

It’s true that various inquiries, including the Australian Law Reform Commission, had pointed out there was sometimes confusion, but they simply suggested changing the language, not tossing out the whole thing.

No committee suggested removing all mention of children’s right to know and be cared for by both parents, and their right to spend regular time with both parents and other significant people like grandparents, nor the provision that parenting plans should start by considering the option of equal or substantial time with both parents.

So How Did They Get Away With It?

Well, for decades feminist ideologues have been manipulating the family law system by claiming that all women and “their” children are at risk of attack by violent ex-partners.

They’ve succeeded brilliantly in hushing up the key statistic that refutes the claim that so many dads pose a risk to their children—namely that 1.2 percent of women are physically assaulted by their male partner or ex-parent each year in Australia, according to the most recent 2016 Personal Safety survey. Physical violence is blessedly rare.

Even though violence orders are commonplace for many of the tiny numbers (less than 5 percent) of couples who actually appear before the Family Court, these families are not the norm.

What matters most is the impact of family law legislation on decisions made about parenting by ordinary separating couples who don’t battle it out in court.

A man and his daughter walk through floodwaters to return to their family home in Windsor, Sydney, Australia, on March 9, 2022. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
A man and his daughter walk through floodwaters to return to their family home in Windsor, Sydney, Australia, on March 9, 2022. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Now these couples are to be told the imperative is keeping children safe and that means putting care of children firmly back into female hands.

Look at this press release from Women’s Legal Services Australia, congratulating Mr. Dreyfus on the bill, which was circulated within minutes of the vote going through:

“We strongly support reform of the Family Law Act to make the law clearer and fairer, including the removal of the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility to improve safety.”

It’s another superb victory for the feminists, one more achievement for their mighty domestic violence juggernaut, which has already stacked the family law system to favour women.

Currently, all it takes is one vague claim that violence could occur, requiring zero supportive evidence, to set in train a sequence of events; starting with dad being removed from the home, denied contact with children, and, if he’s lucky, paying big money to see his own children in our draconian supervised contact services.

Self-interested mums gain all the perks, benefits, and supports that come with victim status. It’s totally irresistible.

No wonder Australia has become one of the world leaders when it comes to men suffering false allegations.

False Allegations on the Rise

In a new YouGov survey, involving 9,432 people across eight countries, Australia came out as the worst country, after India, when people were asked if they had been falsely accused of abuse.
The YouGov survey showed false accusations in Australia are more likely to be made as part of a child custody dispute than anywhere else in the world—they are about 36 percent of such allegations in this country.

Overall, the survey showed about 73 percent of victims of false allegations in this country are male and almost a third (30 percent) of people surveyed know a victim of false allegations made in the last year.

A relief sculpture of the blindfolded allegorical personification of Lady Justice can be seen at the Moabit criminal court in Berlin, Germany, on June 22, 2015. (Adam Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
A relief sculpture of the blindfolded allegorical personification of Lady Justice can be seen at the Moabit criminal court in Berlin, Germany, on June 22, 2015. Adam Berry/AFP via Getty Images

Magistrates Courts are overwhelmed with false violence accusations, which most magistrates have acknowledged are being used to gain strategic advantage in child custody matters.

A survey of 38 magistrates in Queensland found 74 percent agreed restraining orders are often used for tactical purposes.

Similarly, 90 percent of 68 New South Wales magistrates agreed restraining orders are often sought as tactical devices in family law disputes, “serving to deprive former partners of contact with their children.”

That’s the current reality. But now, things are going to get far worse.

Under the new Act, shared care is only to be considered “when it is safe to do so”—which means only a very brave judge would risk such an order if a mother claims to feel unsafe.

Weak Opposition

Mr. Dreyfus has even announced a new bill next year promising a greater share of the marital assets to victims of violence. How’s that for a powerful financial incentive to add to the massive handouts already available to alleged victims?

Getting the current bill through Parliament proved a breeze for the government. These momentous changes sailed through the lower house.

Not a single word was spoken by MPs about false allegations. It was up to brave Pauline Hanson in the Senate to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

The Opposition introduced some pretty feeble amendments, trying unsuccessfully to reintroduce some of the parenting sections of the bill.

Yet, in the end, they sold us out.

When it came to a vote, the bill went through, with the Greens, Independent MP David Pocock, and Jacqui Lambie’s group, all happily supporting Labor.

And get this—almost all the Opposition senators abstained! And Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash actually voted for the bill!
Senator Michaelia Cash during an appearance at Education and Employment Committee at Parliament House, in Canberra, Australia, on March 25, 2021. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)
Senator Michaelia Cash during an appearance at Education and Employment Committee at Parliament House, in Canberra, Australia, on March 25, 2021. Sam Mooy/Getty Images

The Opposition may well claim they’ll stand up and be counted when they get back in power—they just need to avoid attracting feminist wrath until then.

But should we trust them after the Morrison government’s apology to Brittany Higgins and endless kowtowing to the women’s lobby?

People need to know what’s happened here.

These changes to the law will bring poorer outcomes for children, a fresh flood of new accusations against fathers, more conflict between divorced parents, a huge surge in litigation as men pay out to try to see their children, and more suicides for men as they realise that their chances of a fair hearing in an already biased court system will now be further reduced.

All bad news, unless you are a feminist.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Bettina Arndt
Bettina Arndt
Author
Bettina Arndt is an Australian writer and social commentator on gender issues. She was the country’s first sex therapist and feminist, before focusing on men’s rights. She has authored several books and has written for major newspaper titles, magazines, and has featured regularly on television. She received the Order of Australia in 2020 for her work in promoting gender equity through advocacy for men. Find her online at her blog, BettinaArndt.substack.com.
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Related Topics
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