Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Family Court system very much needs a major overhaul. I support the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2018. It is a step in the right direction. Those who go through divorce or separation will often tell you that it is the hardest and most stressful and frustrating time in their lives. The issue facing our courts today is that people are being referred to either the Federal Circuit Court or the Family Court of Australia. Having two court systems isn't working.

Currently there are many cases that are heard in the wrong court. It is wasting our courts' resources and, most importantly, the mums and dads of Australia's time and money, and affecting their wellbeing. The wait time for the family law system and Federal Circuit Court has increased by a third, blowing the wait time out to over 15 months. According to come of my constituents, their first mention, and then it's mention after mention after mention—it can take between three to six months before each one before the matter is listed for trial. I've had constituents come in and say it has taken over five years to finalise, which is incredibly long.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2018 before the House today aims to unite the two courts, with one governing chief justice. This will make it simpler for families and lawyers to navigate the Family Court system, reducing stress and financial pressure. Of course, this may not fix all of the issues faced by the families and constituents that come to see me, but it is a step in the right direction to fix many of the concerns that have been raised.

Constituents have contacted me over the years and they have had all sorts of issues. I've had men in my office saying that they want to suicide, just in tears. I've had grandparents in my office saying how terrible it is that they can no longer see their grandchildren and that their son or daughter is under significant financial stress and emotional stress. I've had women in my office as well who have been in DV situations and who say they haven't actually been believed when they've gone to the court. Why is that? I've had other constituents in my office who have actually told me that when they went to their lawyer the first thing the lawyer told them they should do is to take out a DVO against their partner, and that has created the issue for the previous constituent who came to see me and said that they weren't believed. The whole thing is an absolute mess, and it's one of the biggest issues that people come to talk to me about on a regular basis.

I know we have a lot of lawyers and legal people in the parliament here. I'm not a lawyer, but this issue is a real concern. In the five years that I've been here in this place, I've continued to talk to our government, our attorneys-general and others about how we fix the Family Court system, because whatever is currently working isn't working well.

What we hear from those opposite is that all they want is the status quo, 'Let's not make any changes; let's not support this bill.' That isn't a solution at all. People have spoken to me about their desire for a royal commission into the family courts too. They have spoken to me about that many times. I know we already have a couple of royal commissions going on in relation to banking and aged care, but that doesn't necessarily give an excuse for not having another one if it's a major issue that can't be resolved.

The federal Attorney-General, Christian Porter, has put up this bill. He has a lot of experience in this area and I trust what he has to say. I think this is a step in the right direction, and I call on the parliament to support it and not to continue to delay and delay. This has been going on for years. If the system needs to be reviewed and rebuilt to restore justice and hope, and to protect children as well from the devastating and lifelong trauma involved with this, then let's do it. There are just so many issues that I want to get on record, to say to my constituents that I've spoken about this and been listening, and that I'm definitely passing this on to the parliament here.

There has been consultation. Will this bill help? Yes, I believe it will. It will streamline the way matters are heard. There are instances of cases starting in the wrong court and appeals being heard by three judges of the Family Court. They will now be heard by one judge in the Federal Court, freeing up two other judges to get more of the backlog done. There are parliamentarians who have spoken with barristers and with Federal Circuit Court judges. They've said that these steps are a good thing. So, for every member of the opposition who has said, 'Oh well, there hasn't been enough consultation,' there has been consultation. I've spoken to a number of members on my own side, as well as to the Attorney-General, about that consultation being done.

The Federal Circuit Court and the Family Court operate under different rules of law, and cases are often referred from one to the other, which draws out the process. That adds considerable cost and stress to families. The Attorney-General has advised that these changes will finalise an additional 3,000 cases every year and eliminate 35,000 cases being referred to the wrong court. That sounds like a step in the right direction to me.

It's time to rewrite, rebuild and restore a system that protects children, strengthens families and ensures that cases are being dealt with in an efficient and timely manner. We heard all sorts of accusations from the member for Herbert a minute ago, who wanted to make this about politics. That's what she did—she wanted to make it about politics. Every member in this place—it doesn't matter whether they sit on the opposition or the government side—would know the number of people who come before them to talk about the Family Court and some of the failures with it.

I call upon those sitting opposite to support the bill. By reforming Australia's family law system we'll reduce the stress on families and help to reduce the lifelong mental consequences for those involved. I am proud to stand here and support this bill today.

See this speech in context