Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. What we actually have heard today is that clearly the Liberals are not seriously interested in what is a perfectly appropriate review by Mr Des Semple of the operation of the federal Family Law Court to ensure that the federal family law system meets the needs of families and their children facing family breakdown. These are serious matters. The review, as I have outlined in the opening remarks I made in respect of this, is a serious issue. The government does take this seriously. We are ensuring that the review does meet the timetables that have been set for it, and it will provide a report in due course.

What I said in relation to the question asked by Senator Brandis was that I will get back to the specifics of that, but it does need to be put in context. The context, of course, is that there are a range of quite serious issues on which Senator Brandis might also like to provide information to the review, as the shadow Attorney-General; that is a matter for him. But the opposition are not serious in suggesting that we should not address these issues in the appropriate way in the appropriate time to ensure that we get it right. The opposition wants us to rush these things through, but this government will take a serious and considered approach to ensure that we meet the needs of the community and government and that Mr Des Semple is able to conduct the review in a way that ensures that those important matters that go to ensuring that the federal family law system meets the needs of families and their children facing family breakdown are given the consideration they deserve.