Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

The government's proposed reforms will significantly improve the efficiency of the family law system, reduce the backlog of matters before the courts and drive faster and cheaper resolution of disputes for Australian families. There is precedent for allowing public hearings to be conducted before the closing date for submissions. This inquiry should be no different. By November 2018 those wishing to make submissions will have had almost three months to review the bills, which is far longer than most inquiries. This provides more than sufficient time to make submissions and hold hearings, considering the very limited number of either new or substantially changed provisions in the bills. We have the opportunity to act now and it is imperative that we do so in the best interests of Australian families, who have been calling for improvements for years.