Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Family Law (Self-Assessment) Bill 2019. In rising to speak to this private senator's bill, I note that it is not my first speech. I acknowledge that Senator Hanson has been a longstanding advocate for reforming our family law system, and I congratulate her and One Nation for their diligent work in developing this bill.

It should be noted from the outset that, while I agree with the intention of this bill to improve the operation of the family law system, which is an intention shared by the government, there are some technicalities with this bill which mean that we cannot support it as it is currently written. The Nationals in government, alongside the Liberal Party, are committed to keeping all Australians safe and secure, and that's why the coalition government have taken action to improve Australia's family law system and we continue to do so.

The government recognises that ongoing improvements to our family law system are required to ensure families can separate in a safe, supportive and, most importantly, timely way. This is reflected in our decision to commission the first comprehensive review of Australia's family law system in 40 years to ensure that the family law system is contemporary, accessible and, importantly, fit for purpose.

Turning to the bill in question, the government appreciates that it aims to assist separating couples to self-solve their property and parenting disputes. However, the dispute resolution models in this bill are unlikely to achieve this outcome. While the bill intends to establish dispute resolution regimes that keep matters out of court, the prescriptive nature of the provisions contained in the bill are unlikely to reflect the vast differences and complexities between families or suit the needs of their children.

When couples separate, the Family Law Act of 1975 provides that the best interests of the child are the paramount consideration when resolving parenting matters. The Family Law Act, as it currently stands, is gender-neutral and focuses on the rights of children and the responsibilities that each parent has towards their children rather than parental rights. It's not clear that all the prescribed rules in this bill would be in the best interests of the child for all families experiencing separation. Under the Family Law Act, the court exercises a broad discretion, having regard to all the relevant circumstances, to make orders that are just and equitable, which is unlikely to be possible for all cases under the provisions of this bill. And, given the level of prescription in the bill, there is actually a risk that more families may end up in court if they consider that the conditions set out in this bill are not suitable for them.

While there are some issues with the drafting and wording of this bill, the coalition government are committed to improving the family law system and working with the crossbench to do so. I would like to take this opportunity to speak to some of those. We've already committed to structural reform of the federal family law courts to help with the unnecessary costs and delays for thousands of Australian families that arise from a split federal and family court system. This will allow families to have their matters dealt with as efficiently as possible under one single set of rules and procedures. These reforms will significantly improve the family law system to reduce the backlog of matters before the Family Court and to drive, timely, cheaper and more consistent resolution of disputes for Australian families. It is estimated that these reforms have the potential, in time, to allow thousands of additional cases to be resolved each and every year.

The government will again seek to progress its clear and measured plan to bring together the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, to be known as the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, or the FCFC. The FCFC will become, in effect, a single point of entry into the family law jurisdiction of the Federal Court system and create a consistent pathway for Australian families in having their law disputes dealt with in the Federal Court.

As noted previously, the government have also commissioned the first comprehensive review of the family law system in 40 years, and we are carefully considering the 60 recommendations released by the Australian Law Reform Commission in April this year. We are intent on ensuring the system works for Australian families to keep them safe and allow for sufficient and timely separation. Our family law reforms are aimed squarely at helping Australian families resolve their disputes without needing to go to court, which is consistent with the intent and purpose of this bill.

Providing mediation services that support families to reach agreements about property splits between themselves will keep families out of court. As part of this, in the women's economic security package the government is providing $50 million over four years for the purposes of family law property mediation. This measure is expected to provide an additional 31,200 couples across Australia with access to affordable property mediation each year. We are also providing $10.3 million for Legal Aid commissions to run a two-year trial of lawyer-assisted mediation in each state and territory. The trial will support families with asset pools of up to $500,000, excluding debt, to resolve their property disputes with the help of experienced Legal Aid lawyers. These measures are on top of $160 million per year for family law services to support people with family law disputes outside the courts. These services include counselling and education programs, and have been accessed by 70,000 men and 86,000 women in the last year alone.

The intent of this bill is to improve the operation of our family law system, and that intent is commendable. Our government is committed to keeping Australians safe in all areas of their lives, regardless of their circumstances, and that includes those separating through the family law system and those who have recently gone through family separation. Our family law reform agenda demonstrates our commitment to ensuring Australia's family law system remains accessible and works well for Australian families. We remain committed to working with the crossbench and all sides of parliament to improve the operation of our family law system, and we appreciate One Nation's efforts to achieve this goal.

Debate adjourned.