Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

The incorporated speech read as follows:

This amendment is to ensure there is a review of the operation of the Act, two years after proclamation of these amendments, to establish whether the legislation has been effective.

Many community groups do not think this legislation will be effective and a review would address those concerns.

The origins of this Bill date almost three years, to June 2003, when the Prime Minister announced a parliamentary inquiry into the issue. Many groups and individuals invested great time and expertise into that inquiry, and the subsequent inquiries, to see this Bill debated today. They want equal parenting time as the norm. If the Bill does not work, they want some assurance they will not have to wait many more years until there can be another attempt to fix the problem. A review after two years allows enough time to see how the legislation operates, but not so much that we will be waiting an inordinate amount of time for problems to be addressed.

I ask Senators for their support for the amendment.