Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, with all due respect, in response to your answer to my question, let's be very clear: no-one is proposing depriving children of their rights. That was (a) not the question I put and (b) certainly not the proposition I was referring to. So no-one is proposing depriving children of their rights. This is just about bad legislative drafting. It may well be it is unintentional, hence the amendment that the coalition has moved. So I ask you again, specifically in relation to the section and the way it is drafted. The provision says:

… in determining what is in the child's best interests … the court must consider …

…   …   …

(b) any views expressed by the child …

My question is: if a parent maliciously coaches a child to say, for example, something hurtful or untrue, under the current drafting—it is a very simple question, with a yes-or-no answer—the court would need to consider that, wouldn't it?