Family Law - Is the Man the Loser?

With special guests:

• Mark Yousseff
• Peter van de Voorde and
• Warwick Marsh.

Dads on the Air was pleased to accept an invitation from the debating group Fellowship of the Round Table. We were asked to contribute to their debate called Family Law: Is the Man The Loser? We argue men, women and children are all losers under the present system. With the current left-wing Labor government preparing to wind back the modest family law reforms of the previous conservative Howard government which encouraged shared and cooperative care of children after divorce or separation, there could hardly be a more controversial subject in Australia today. Prior to the reforms more than half of the country’s dads barely if ever saw their children again after divorce. With the enormous pain this was causing parents, and the enormous damage the destruction of the relationship between children and their fathers was doing to the kids and to society at large, these reforms were long overdue. This week we play a fascinating speech from senior family law lawyer Mark Yousseff as well as speeches from DOTA representative Peter van de Voorde and Warwick Marsh from the Fatherhood Foundation.

The Fellowship of the Round Table is a long established discussion and study group. Their aim is to raise political/cultural consciousness and to network for social change by holding regular open Forums. F.O.R.T. has no links or connections with any political, business, social or religious organisation, whatsoever. All funds are spent on printed/internet information and public meetings.

They believe in the importance of culture, individuality and moral integrity and in the dignity, value and liberty of each person. Their Motto: ‘We serve Truth, not consensus’. Epictetus, the Greek stoic philosopher of the first century, said, “it is better by yielding to truth, to conquer opinion, than by yielding to opinion, to be defeated by truth”.

Here’s just a small sample from Peter van de Voorde’s speech which gives you a taste of the night’s events:

“Family Law - Is The Man The Loser? Well of course he is!!! Because the only winners in family law are those involved with the administering of family law, which has now ballooned into a multi-billion dollar international industry.

“Unfortuantely contrary to the community perceptions in the jurisdiciton of family law, equality and justice are missing in action and I see the real losers more as being the many millions of responsible non-custodial parents around the globe who have been forcibly removed from their biological children against their will by this industry.

“So as to the question of “Is the Man the Loser?” I would have to say a resounding yes. But qualify that by saying he is not aloine, because equally so, are responsible non-custodial mothers and I hasten to add that the greatest losers of all are those who do not have a voice of their own, and rely on us to speak for them in the hope they can somehow escape the nightmare they are forced to live, and I speak of course of the children.

“What drives non-custodial parents like me is grief, pain and absolute outrage, and it saddens me greatly to witness the continuing lack of community awareness because these are human rights violations, and denying its citizens fundamental human rights are the policies of a morally failed state.”

Next week: don’t miss the second half of the Forum with controversial author Barbara Biggs - the main figure organising demonstrations outside the Family Court against shared parenting laws.

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