My last article mentioned a report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies that revealed that an alarmingly high number of children spend the day with their father but never sleep over. These children, and their fathers, are being denied the opportunity for a normal parent/child relationship and all the benefits that accrue from this. They are children who only visit their father. They have no sense of being at home ...

One of the reasons my life has been so good is that I have had a good father. I also want to be a good father to my own children. However, the freedom to make this choice no longer exists for separated fathers in Australian society. Family Law legislation in Australia has removed from me my authority as a father and placed it in the hands of anonymous government bureaucrats who ...

Most separated fathers would understand that the most effective way to achieve fairness and equity in family law is through legislative reform. This reform needs to be underpinned and sustained by a change in social values that re-establishes a recognition of the value of fathering. The frontline for both these battles is the federal parliament. It’s worthwhile, therefore, to continue my report on the recent meeting held at Parliament House by ...

One of the things I enjoy about spending time with my children is the opportunity to drop everything else I do. This is through necessity as well as through choice, since my children offer me no other option. I’m involved with a number of community groups which require a considerable amount of time, research and thought. As well as this, like most people, I find that I need to work for ...

It may by reassuring for separated fathers to know that many federal parliamentarians have some awareness of their plight. The efforts of many men in communicating their experiences and highlighting the injustices inherent in the Family Law System is paying dividends. During the recent meeting of the Fatherhood Foundation/Dads4Kids at Parliament House, Canberra, the following comments were made: Senator Bill Heffernan said that they hear all the time in the party ...

‘Promoting family values’ has been the catch-cry of both well-intentional and vote-hungry politicians throughout the ages. In Australia in recent years, it has had a particularly strong and enthusiastic resurgence. Who can forget Bob Hawke’s emotional electoral promise that, “by the Year 2000, no Australian child will be living in poverty”? In 1989, the Hawke Labor Government introduced the Child Support Scheme, which had the effect of engineering and accelerating the ...