Natasha Stott Despoja (SA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

I will be brief, because my immediate parenting plan is to be home by the time the babysitter runs out at midnight! I want to make very clear the Democrats’ support for this amendment. It is a sensible, logical amendment. It has the support of a number of parties. It has arisen out of committee discussions and indeed recommendations. It is a value-adding amendment—a seven-day cooling-off period for parents entering into a parenting agreement.

We believe it is highly likely that we will find examples of parents being disadvantaged in the negotiating process. Surely the addition of some time to consider the agreement they have made is a beneficial inclusion to this legislation. Protection for parents is important—and I might add that the Democrats’ next amendment on the running sheet is also designed to protect parents when forming agreements outside the courts. The Democrats will be supporting these amendments.