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A PETITION FOR REFORM OF THE
AUSTRALIAN FAMILY COURT
"It
remains for people of good conscience to speak up about injustice,
rascism and inequality - in our
neighbourhoods,
in academic debate, in political discourse. And to question, question
relentlessly.
Too often people
go ahead with policies and attitudes that contradict human rights and
are contrary
to our vision of
Australia as a place where everyone is treated fairly... Ask questions
publically and
demand the
answers be explained clearly so that everyone may understand... As
Australians let us not
be damned by our
silence. Or shamed by our ignorance".
"We all have a
responsibility to hold up to scrutiny and accountability circumstances
where the
human rights of
others are compromised"
- the Hon. John von
Doussa QC, President of the Australian Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity
Commisssion.
His Excellency Major
General Michael Jeffery, AC, CVO,
MC
Governor General of
the Commonwealth of
Australia
Government
House
Dunrossil
Avenue
Yarralumla
ACT
2600
Australia.
March 27, 2008
Dear General
Jeffery,
On December 12,
2008, I wrote to you and asked whether you would give a statement of
support to
the Petition and
bring it to the notice of UNICEF Australia members.
I made this request
on the basis "that as patron of UNICEF Australia, you are
concerned for the
implementation of
UNCROC in all the countries of the world, including Australia, and
that an
important
function of the Governor-General is to "encourage, articulate and
represent" the social
values which
Australia considers to be important, and to lend your support to
individuals and groups
who strive to
make them a reality in every day life in Australia."
As you know, these
values include the right of children to shared parenting when both
parents are
suited to provide it
(UNCROC) and the common law principle that alleged breaches of the law
must
be capable of
objective determination.
My enclosures
included the Petition, its research paper, Burke's Backyard: A
Window onto the Family
Court of
Australia, some high-profile statements of support, and a
recommendation from a British
Circuit Court judge
that the research should be published in the international legal
press.
Burke's
Backyard details systemic disregard in Australian family law for
the United Nations
Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCROC), the International Covenant on Civil and
Political
Rights (ICCPR), the
Harare Declaration (which sets out the values and
principles Australia has
promised to uphold
as a member of the Commonwealth), and the common law values
encompassed
by the principle of
a fair trial. It gives evidence that Australia is almost certainly
perpetrating a second
stolen
generations scandal, but this time in family law, without regard
to race or colour, and on a
larger scale than
before.
As you know, the
history of the Aboriginal stolen generations phenomenon can be
seen directly in
terms of the UN
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide.
The following is the
reply I received from your secretary, Brien Hallett.
"Dear Mr.
Midgley
Thank you for
your letter and attached petition of 12 February to the Governor
General
concerning the
Australian Family Court.
General
Jeffery understands the matter has caused you great concern, however,
it would be
inappropriate
for the Governor-General to participate in your
petition.
Thank you once
again for writing to the Governor-General.
Yours
sincerely,
Brian
Hallett
Deputy
Official Secretary to the Governor-General
28 February
2008".
The possibility that
Australia could be perpetrating a second stolen generations scandal
within a
generation of the
first is breath-taking and I suggest Mr Hallett's remarks are a
wholly insufficient
response to the
evidence I brought to your attention.
Consequently, I
would like to ask you to look at the matter again taking into special
consideration the
following:
.
Australia has one of the worst human rights records
of any country of the English-speaking
common law world. It has been widely criticised for its contempt for
international law,
including by the Director-General of Amnesty International, and it is
the only modern
western country to have been declared by the UN to be racist. Its
child protection policies
have a history of not only consistently failing to protect children,
but of contributing to their
mistreatment.
. Since the
enaction of the 1975 Australian Family Law Act, there have been
approximately
69 Acts of the Commonwealth of Australia amending the original Act.
During this time,
tens of thousands of
children - and some say well over a million - have
almost
undoubtedly been wrongly separated from their parents by the
Family Court under
jusrisprudence and
practices which the former Chief Justice of the Family
Court,
Alistair Nicholson, has rightly recognised are oppressive and
arbitrary - causing massive
long term damage to the social fabric and bringing the Westminster
system of justice into
disrepute.
.
"The minimum content of the rule of law is
that the rights and duties of persons in the
community, and the consequences of breach of any such rights and
duties, must be
capable of objective
determination" (Chief Justice of NSW, the Hon. J.J.
Spigelman at the
7th Worldwide Common Law Judicial Conference, London,
2007).
.
As the Crown's representative in Australia, you
are not just an 'ordinary man' in a plumed
hat and dress uniform, but the embodiment of 800 years of British
Commonwealth political
and social history. The whole movement of that tradition is away from
the jurisprudence and
conditions which direct the administration of Australian family law.
.
Contrary to the impression Mr. Hallet's letter
gives, I did not ask you to sign the petition, but
to give a statement of support.
The role of 'arms-length' statements of support is discussed
in the literature on the subject,
and I referred you to the statements given by HRH the Prince of
Wales; executive Member
of the Youth Justice Board of England and Wales, and CEO of the
Children's Society, Bob
Reitemeier; and Patron of the British Institute of Human
Rights (BIHR), Cherie Booth QC.
Mr. Hallet's remarks suggest that you consider these people to have
behaved
inappropriately in
some way in giving statements, but do not explain how or in what
way.
In contrast, the Prince of Wales has said that in his view
it would not only be inappropriate,
but "criminally negligent" if he went
round Britain and did not draw public attention to
important social justice issues, and his statement of support for the
Petition suggests that he
takes the same view in respect of social justice issues in
Australia.
.
The failure to speak up is not a position of neutrality as
it contributes to holding the status
quo in place and can be seen as a political act. Put another way, Mr.
Hallett's letter gives the
impression that you support values which are commonly associated with
the totalitarian
state.
.
It is a long standing convention in the Westminster
system of government that people are
free to express their conscience on issues with a strong moral or
ethical content.
.
The obligation of responsibility on heads of state
and their representatives expressed in
Article 227 of the Versailles Peace Treaty, the Nuremberg principles,
and the UN
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide.
.
Justice von Doussa's comments at the head of this
letter.
Re: YOUR ROLE AS
PATRON OF UNICEF AUSTRALIA
I was originally
recommended to get in touch with UNICEF Australia by Robert Palk of
the National
Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) (Royal Patron: H.M. The
Queen), and I
refer you to his
comment in the statements of support I sent you. In the first
instance, I wrote to
UNICEF Australia's
Executive Committee, but had no reply. My letter to you is therefore
my second
approach to UNICEF
Australia.
UNICEF Australia's
website states UNICEF's work is guided by UNCROC, a set of
minimum
international human
rights standards for children which Australia has a legal
responsibility to uphold
in Australia in full
(see the rule of international law, pacta sunt
servanda).
In respect of your
role as Patron of UNICEF, it is generally considered that the
responsibility of a
Patron is to serve
and act in accordance with the values of the body or institution of
which he or she is
patron.
The following are
some mission statements published by UNICEF Australia on its
website:
"The
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) sets out basic rights for
all children, and is the
foundation of
all Unicef's work."
"Unicef
works to protect children who have suffered from or at risk of
violence, exploitation and
abuse".
"Unicef
works with governments and various organisations to bring children's
rights to the centre
of public
policy".
UNICEF aims to
"involve everyone in creating protective environments for
children" and
"to achieve
equality for those who are discriminated against".
I enclose the
Petition statement. It has been constructed to reflect the rights of
children in UNCROC
and consequently it
is unclear how Mr. Hallett can say that it would be inappropriate of
you to support
it. Rather, the
opposite seems true.
As you know, it is
sufficient in Australian family law to raise nothing more concrete
than suspicion
about people's
integrity to obtain a judgement against them, and I assume you would
not wish your
own integrity
to be subject to the same standard? I would therefore ask you to
clarify Mr. Hallett's
statement and
identify the principle on which it is based.
If you do not reply,
I will assume you regard my remarks to be
fair.
In view of the
importance of the subject, I would very much appreciate a personal
response.
Thank you and I look
forward to hearing from you.
Yours
sincerely,
Michael
Midgley
Campaign
Organiser
Enc.
A Petition for
Justice and Accountability in Australian Family Law
Copies
to:
HM The Queen, HRH The Prince of
Wales, The Executive Committee of UNICEF Australia,
Julian
Burnside QC, Director of Liberty
Australia, Michael Green QC, President of the Australian
Joint
Parenting Association, Warwick
Marsh, CEO of the Australian Fatherhood Foundation, and
Max
Clifford of Max Clifford
Associates.
Dear Mr. Midgley,
Thank you for your letter of 27 March 2008 to the Governor-General concerning your petition for reform of the Australian Family Court.
I am sorry to disappoint you, but I can only reiterate previous advice provided by this office on 28 February 2008, that it is not possible for the Governor-General to become involved in issues such as this. May I suggest if you wish to pursue this matter further, that you approach the Hon. Robert McClelland MP, Attorney-General, at PO Box 6022, House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra, Act, 2600.
Thank you once again for writing to the Governor-General.
Yours sincerely,
Brien Hallett
Acting Official Secretary to the Governor-General
Thank you for your letter of 27 March 2008 to the Governor-General concerning your petition for reform of the Australian Family Court.
I am sorry to disappoint you, but I can only reiterate previous advice provided by this office on 28 February 2008, that it is not possible for the Governor-General to become involved in issues such as this. May I suggest if you wish to pursue this matter further, that you approach the Hon. Robert McClelland MP, Attorney-General, at PO Box 6022, House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra, Act, 2600.
Thank you once again for writing to the Governor-General.
Yours sincerely,
Brien Hallett
Acting Official Secretary to the Governor-General
Government House
Canberra
24 April 2008
A PETITION FOR
REFORM OF THE AUSTRALIAN FAMILY COURT
"Daily we
watch as fathers take their own lives unable to accept outcomes and
accusations that depict them as guilty until proven innocent rather
than innocent until proven guilty. The Australian Family Court is
Australia's family shame", Tony Miller, founder of Dads in
Distress
"We all have a
responsibility to hold up to scrutiny and accountability circumstances
where the human rights of others are compromised."
"By turning a
blind eye... we fail to show respect and fairness to those who most
need it".
"As
Australians, let us not be damned by our silence. Or shamed by our
ignorance", the Hon. Justice John von Doussa, President of the
Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commisssion.
Brien
Hallett
Acting Official
Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia
Government
House
Canberra
ACT
2600
Australia.
May 8, 2008.
Dear Mr.
Hallett,
Thank you for your
letter of April 24 2008.
As you know, the
Governor-General has a constitutional duty to encourage and support
the values which Australia claims to embody and has far-reaching
powers to bring about laws which incorporate those values. The values
include the right of everyone to a fair trial and the right of
children to know and be cared for by both their parents when both
parents are suited to parent them.
It is consequently
unclear how you can make out that it would be inappropriate of the
Governor-General to publicly support these values.
I mention these
things because if General Jeffery does not support the principle of a
fair trial or that of joint parenting, then he is clearly unsuited to
be Governor-General of Australia and Patron of UNICEF Australia. In
such circumstances, he should resign and give a public apology for
accepting positions without understanding or having the intention of
discharging the responsibilities associated with them.
In respect of your
responsibilities as the Governor-General's Official Acting
Secretary, you appear to have misrepresented the role of
Governor-General to me. I wonder whether you are aware that civil
servants are expected to act in accordance with the institutional
values they are employed to serve, and that this includes admitting
mistakes that they may make and putting them right?
In view of the
enormous implications of your advice, could you confirm that your
letters to me have been written with General Jeffery's approval and
explain the principle on which your advice is based in a way that
everyone can understand?
If I have
misunderstood General Jeffery's position in any way, I would ask for
a letter of clarification from him personally so as to avoid the
impression that you may be acting independently of him or without
understanding the responsibilities of your own
position.
May I please have a
reply by email and confirmation by international post
cover.
Thank
you.
Yours
sincerely,
Michael
Midgley.
Campaign
Organiser
A Petition for
Reform of the Australian Family Court
By fax
transmission.
Copies to HM The
Queen, HRH The Prince of Wales and members of the Australian Family
Law Reform Movement.
Burke's Backyard: A Window onto the Family Court of
Australia, can be viewed online at http://www.dadsontheair.net/bb.pdf
AFC Petition, 19 Calle Cala Corb, Es Castell 07720, Menorca,
Spain. Tel: (0034) 971 35 30 87. Email: afcpetition@...
A PETITION FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN AUSTRALIAN FAMILY
LAW
"Australia is a free democratic society which ought to be able to withstand robust debate and criticism against the arms of government. The Family Court is part of the judiciary, which under the Westminster system is one of the arms of government", Gabriel Kuek, Australian Family Court Lawyer.
A Court constituted under a no-fault charter to break up families in secret on no other ground than the creation of suspicion is the stuff of nightmares: The law deprives people of knowledge of their social and political landscape, disenfranchising them from the democratic process, and allows the state to ride-rough-shod over their lives.
WE CALL FOR
. An end to the "lingering doubt"/ "unacceptable risk" test
. the upholding of the presumption of innocence in family law, and the values of accountability, justice and freedom
. respect by government for the fundamental right of children to shared parenting when both parents are suited to provide it
Unjust laws debase democracy and undermine people's safety and respect for government: We call on Australian politicians and judges to think again.
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Returns should be made to: AFC Petition, 19 Calle Cala Corb, Es Castell 07720, Menorca, Spain.
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