Reform family law to raise status of marriage, says analyst

Sydney
6 January 2002

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Reform family law to raise status of marriage, says analyst

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Reform family law to raise status of marriage, says analyst

Federal budget allocations of millions of dollars for the support of families only address the symptoms of a range of marital, family and childhood problems, says policy analyst and author Barry Maley, a senior fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies.

“The manifest decay of family life has reverberations - in welfare costs, in rising crime, in suicide, in illness, in disorder and violence - that go beyond the distress and disappointment of those directly affected by the falling apart of a family,” he says.

Causes lie in the cultural, economic, social and legal changes that have impacted on family life over the past 30 to 40 years as a result of the introduction of sole parent pensions and no-fault divorce, the mass entry of women into the workforce and growth of childcare.

What is urgently needed is a reform of family law that will raise the status of marriage, he argues in Family and Marriage in Australia, a policy monograph published by the Centre for Independent Studies.

“At a time when dismissing an employee engaged the week before may expose the employer to the possibility of an extended investigation by a tribunal and a substantial fine for ‘wrongful dismissal’, one spouse can dismiss the other after perhaps 30 years of marriage, with no inquiry, no prospect of any penalty whatsoever, and with no preliminaries except separation for one year,” he says.

He also canvasses introducing fault as a factor in determining divorce settlements and bringing unmarried couples with children under the rules of family law.

Family and Marriage in Australia by Barry Maley, 235pp, $29.95rrp, Centre for Independent Studies. Tel (02) 9438 4377.