George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, I can. One of the reasons that there has been delay in the family law system is that there are too many matters that are not resolved at the earliest possible stage. In order to reform the system, one of the objectives is to ensure that the system is, as it were, front-end loaded so that everything that can be resolved early in the course of a proceeding is resolved early in the course of a proceeding.

One of the most intractable disputes—perhaps the most intractable—that arise in family law matters is in relation to parenting matters. So the government has announced that we will pilot a system whereby there is an initial parenting management hearing, a conference in the nature of a mediation, so that separating parties with children can discuss arrangements in relation to the parenting of those children, and, if they can be encouraged to reach agreement at that stage, the matter does not have to proceed through— (Time expired)