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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-02 Daily Xml
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Child Custody

The Hon. S.L. GAME (14:33): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the Attorney-General on South Australians fighting for custody of their children.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.L. GAME: I have been contacted by a number of constituents who have had their lives torn apart by former partners restricting access to their children. They now face long and expensive battles in court. Parenting proceedings in the federal circuit and Family Court of Australia cost an average of $50,000 per parent but may cost many hundreds of thousands depending on the complexity of the case and how well the other side is funded.

It can take many years for custody cases to be resolved and for alienated parents left with years of worry and isolation from their children. My question to the Attorney-General is: in what way is the Malinauskas government going to work with the new federal government to advocate for the South Australian parents alienated from their children while being caught up in the expensive and time-consuming web of the court system?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:34): I thank the honourable member for her question and her interest in this area. I think, as the honourable member alluded to in the question, the Family Court, or it is now part of the Federal Court, is a commonwealth jurisdiction. Certainly, we do in South Australia, and will continue to, advocate for those involved in the federal system to make sure people have reasonable access to justice.

We have institutions in South Australia like the Legal Services Commission, like Community Justice Centres, like the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, that do help people who face barriers because of their personal circumstances and financial ability to access the justice system. We are happy to advocate, as we often do, to make sure that those who have struggled to access justice and participate in the legal system can do so if they have financial barriers, in particular, to doing that.

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