Alan Cadman (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The work done in the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Bill 2005, which we are considering today, had its genesis in 2003. It is the result of two House of Representatives committees and numerous submissions to those inquiries in a nationwide endeavour to improve the Family Law Act and the relationships process where marriage has broken down. It is an endeavour, I believe, to help couples contemplating separation to take a second look at their intention, to evaluate what the costs may be—not just to them as parents perhaps but to the total family—and to really consider, if they decide to go ahead with separation, the best interests of the children and how their living arrangements as a couple can best fulfil their children’s needs. The committee inquiries were extensive, one being held on top of the other—one being social and practical and the other legal—and I have been privileged to be a part of both.

It surprises me to hear claims made that this has been a rushed process. This process has not been rushed at all. It has been a process of care and of consultation, with both sides of the parliament demonstrating their capacity to work together. It was only at the death knock, in the last few minutes, of this three-year examination that the shadow Attorney-General decided that, after reading about what was going on, she would lob on the table of the House a few comments of her own, which are quite at odds with members of her own party. The shadow Attorney-General has used this as an opportunity to make her mark, but she should reconsider whether any personal ambitions she may have are worth sacrificing the harmony and unity that we have had to this point. I was quite surprised to see a person with her knowledge, intelligence and experience rise to this occasion in such an inappropriate and unparliamentary way. It is inappropriate and not for the benefit of families throughout Australia—of children, of separating parents and of those who may reconcile after careful reconsideration—for her now to want to divide us on this issue and to move to a re-examination. That is what will come from this now—a re-examination by the Senate of all the work that has been done. The Senate will never accept anything that has been done in the House of Representatives.

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