Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—In relation to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019, I move opposition amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 1208:

That the House of Representatives be requested to make the following amendment:

(1) Amendment (1), subclause (3), omit “25 Judges”, substitute “32 Judges”.

[increased minimum number of Judges]

(2) Amendment (1), subclause (4), omit “25 Judges”, substitute “32 Judges”.

[increased minimum number of Judges]

Incorporation:20210217:Opposition's statment of reasons on FCFC bills

Amendment (1) on the government's sheet of amendments, if enacted, would ensure that there would have to be at least 25 judges in Division 1 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. These amendments would marginally improve a terrible piece of legislation.

Let's not forget that, when the Attorney-General first put forward a bill to merge the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia in the 45th Parliament, he explicitly stated that he intended not to appoint new judges to Division 1 as they retired. That would have amounted to a gradual abolition of Division 1 over time. Let's remember that Division 1 is what the existing Family Court will become if the government's legislation passes the Senate. The Attorney-General was forced to back away from that position in the 46th Parliament.

Under its current iteration, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019 would allow the Attorney-General to make a regulation to prescribe a minimum number of judges for Division 1, but nothing in the bill would require the Attorney-General to make any such regulation. The fact that the Attorney-General has stated publicly that he would prescribe a minimum of 25 judges is meaningless. The Morrison government commits itself to doing things all the time, and it almost never follows through.

Amendment (1) on the government's sheet of amendments will ensure that the Attorney-General cannot crab walk away from his commitment to prescribe a minimum number of 25 judges for Division 1. But it would still allow the Morrison government to reduce the number of judges, in what will become Division 1, from 32 to 25. And I note that there is also a vacancy that has been created recently. We do not think that that is acceptable. That is why I have moved amendments to this amendment to prescribe a minimum number of 32 judges in Division 1 so that the number of judges in that division cannot drop below 32.

But, even if our amendments to this amendment succeed, none of the changes to the bill that we are debating will address any of the fundamental problems with the legislation. The government's bill will still rob the Family Court of Australia of its essential distinguishing feature, which is that it is a court that deals only with family law matters. The government's bill will still do nothing to address any of the problems in the family law system, a system that the Liberals and Nationals have neglected for over seven years. The government's bill will still make an already bad situation even worse for Australian families. The government's bill will still, in the words of the Law Council, represent 'a terrible gamble with the lives of children and families'. But, in the event that this bill does pass the Senate, it is better that it passes with these amendments than without them.