Senate debates Bills
Family Law Amendment Bill 2023, Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023; Second Reading
Matthew Canavan Queensland, Liberal National Party
7:16 pm
It was Father's Day the other day. It was a good time to recognise how important dads are for children. It's something I think we sometimes forget. I do think mums are really important too—probably more important—but dads make a big difference in lots of children lives. Certainly, all the statistics show that, for kids who are lucky enough to have their biological father in their lives, it makes a big difference to them. It often makes a big difference to their development and it's something we should try to promote.
I've got grave concerns for the legislation that's before us. It's not really a Father's Day present. The Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 and Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023, in my view, somewhat unnecessarily and inexplicably seek to minimise the importance of shared parenting, the importance of having both a mother and father in a child's life. I just don't think the government has fully explained here why it is up-ending nearly two decades of bipartisanship here on the principles of shared parenting.
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