AUST: MPs push for families tribunal 

AUST: MPs push for families tribunal

MPs push for families tribunal

By Dennis Atkins - 22Mar04

THE Federal Government could today decide to establish a new tribunal which would reduce the Family Court's power.

Cabinet is due to finalise its response to the parliamentary committee report on child custody which recommended a new families tribunal at the end of last year.

Despite initial opposition to a new body from senior ministers including Treasurer Peter Costello, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock is making a last-minute bid for the tribunal.

A senior government source said the issue "hung in the balance" but support for a tribunal had increased since Cabinet first considered the issue at the beginning of the month.

"Some ministers do not want another layer of bureaucracy but the A-G is very strongly behind the proposal," the source said.
The tribunal proposal has strong backing from many backbench Coalition MPs as well as from ministers who are suspicious of Family Court chief judge Alistair Nicholson -- a frequent critic of the Government.

One Liberal MP said Justice Nicholson's constant criticism of the Government over funding and legal aid had left him "without any real support" among Coalition politicians.

Justice Nicholson last year questioned the "constitutional validity" of the proposed tribunal and suggested that it might not be capable of handling the large number of cases it would attract.

The joint standing committee on family and community affairs recommended a tribunal, with the power to issue enforceable parenting orders, to handle most cases now heard by the Family Court.

The court would be left to deal with only the more difficult cases involving family violence, substance use and child abuse, as well as situations where there was a prolonged history of violence.

Lawyers would be excluded from the tribunal which would focus on conciliation and mediation.

Before attending the tribunal, parents would be encouraged to seek advice from a "one-stop shopfront" advisory service.

When the committee reported in late December, Children and Youth Affairs Minister Larry Anthony said he doubted the Government would want to set up "multiple layers of bureaucracy".

But it is now understood that Mr Anthony supports the concept of a tribunal.

Cabinet is expected to give its approval to new funding for increased mediation and counselling and a new community education program.

The involvement of grandparents in handling custody arrangements would also be promoted -- as would increased contact with non-resident parents (in most instances, fathers).

Other reforms likely to be approved include reducing the cap for high-income earners and allowing parents to take a second job or do overtime without having to increase child-support payments, as well as an increase in the minimum child-support payment from $5 to $10 a week.

The committee's report was criticised because it stopped short of recommending automatic 50-50 shared custody -- one of the demands which led to the establishment of the inquiry.

This report appears on NEWS.com.au.

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