By Cassandra Banks -
Snapshot
- Parents of both genders can appear to treat children as objects to be passed between them. They need to shift their focus to what the child needs
- Law makers and the courts are trying to provide children with the opportunity for a meaningful relationship with both parents
It was debated that the 2006 amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 were intended to reflect a “new attitude” towards post-separation parenting. The Attorney-General’s Department at the time labelled it “the most significant change to family law in over 30 years”. The question remains, did the amendments provide an equal playing field or did they, as is often suggested by men’s support organisations, give fathers unrealistic expectations that equal shared parental responsibility equated with equal shared time? Was this a promotion of a fundamental feminist agenda or clever political manipulation?
This is not easily answered in a short article. However, the short answer could be as is stated in the Australian Master Family Law Guide (6th Edition, CCH) that the Act “focuses on the importance of both parents playing an active role in the lives of their children after separation”. Is the Family Law Actunconsciously promoting a fundamental feminist agenda? I would answer no.
