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Government to review Family Court after pressure from Pauline Hanson

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One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson asked the government to make her the co-chair of the parliamentary committee.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has angered domestic violence campaigners with a surprise decision to hold an inquiry into the Family Court after years of pressure from One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to overhaul the system.

The government launched the inquiry to look into concerns including the onus of proof required to gain an apprehended violence order, the cost of the court process and claims of false evidence being used against former partners.

Senator Hanson applauded the move and asked the government to make her the co-chair of the parliamentary committee alongside former social services minister Kevin Andrews, the Liberal MP who will lead the year-long inquiry.

Campaigners against family violence greeted the decision with dismay just as they arrived in Parliament House to lobby MPs to change the family law system to protect women and children.

“Yet again we have another inquiry set up with people who are not experts in domestic violence,” said Queensland Women’s Legal Service chief executive Angela Lynch.

“I’m exasperated and outraged. This is just kicking the issue down the road again.

“How many more women and children have to die before they do something?”

Government MPs insisted the review would not take sides in the dispute over whether the Family Court was unfair to men who sought access to their children in custody disputes.

 “I’ve have many women come to me and they’ve had appalling decisions against them, when they’ve had their children taken from them,” Liberal MP Craig Kelly said.

“I don’t think this is an issue where the men get the best decisions or the women get the best decisions.”

Mr Kelly, who represents the electorate of Hughes in south-western Sydney, said he had heard from constituents who had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to navigate the Family Court.

The terms of reference for the inquiry include the legal standards for domestic violence orders and apprehended violence orders, the powers to ensure truthful evidence, the financial costs to families, the impact of the process on children and any issues that arise for grandparents.

Senator Hanson said she was “pleased to announce” the inquiry was happening after her attempts to get the government to act.

Mr Morrison has overseen a fourth wave of funding for national programs against family violence, committing $328 million in March in a policy backed by campaigners against violence against women.

But the new inquiry took campaigners by surprise and raised fears it would be a vehicle for Senator Hanson’s concern that the system is unfair to men.

Michelle Dörendahl, a Queensland woman whose daughter, Eeva, was murdered by her father, said the courts needed to do more to guard against abusive men who manipulated the system.

“Part of the manipulation of the abuser is to use the system to discount the truth,” Ms Dörendahl said.

“The system is used a lot by perpetrators to continue that control and manipulation of their victims.”

Ms Dörendahl and her former partner, Greg Hutchings, took their dispute to the Family Court in July 2013. Hutchings killed himself and Eeva during a court-approved access visit seven months later.

In a contrast with the fears about the inquiry, the Law Council of Australia welcomed the move as a way to fix “systemic failures” in the family law system due to underfunding over decades.

“This inquiry must involve the whole community – not just politicians, lawyers and bureaucrats,” the Law Council said.

“Those who witness the impacts of the broken system on a daily basis, including families, judges and family violence service providers, must be included.”

But the new inquiry comes at a time when the government is yet to respond to a review of the system by the Australian Law Reform Commission, which handed down 60 recommendations in March.

It is less than three years since the government heard from an earlier parliamentary inquiry, chaired by Victorian Liberal Sarah Henderson, that urged changes to make the system less complex and expensive.

The government is also part-way through an attempt to merge the Family Court with the Federal Court.

Attorney-General Christian Porter has vowed to proceed with the plan by the end of this year even though it was rejected by Labor and criticised by the Law Council.

Divorce Hotel (Weekend Collaborative Divorce) is coming to Australia

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divorcehotelAfter 35 years of being married to Jan, Paul came to the realisation he was gay.

While there was no bad blood between the pair, it was clear they could no longer stay married.

However, the idea of getting a divorce seemed cumbersome. Jan, a 56-year-old optical advisor from the east of England, visited a divorce lawyer to gather information but left with a bitter taste.

“I just got the feeling that he would have been all out to get as much [money from Paul] as possible, and I didn’t really want that.”

When Jan was scrolling through Facebook one day she stumbled across a different solution – an ad for a company called DivorceHotel.

The premise is simple: couples check in to a hotel in two separate rooms for two nights, where they undergo mediation processes behind closed doors and away from outside responsibilities.

The idea is that, over the course of a 48-hour hotel stay, all divorce arrangements can be made.

Jan and Paul booked in for their DivorceHotel in December 2017.

“I know it might sound strange but I actually looked forward to going away for those two days,” says Jan.

“It meant we had 48 hours where we were not going to be disturbed by children, not having to think abut shopping, food, cooking, anything, to have no distraction.”

She also liked the idea that the proceedings would occur on neutral ground.

While they’d “loosely” agreed on the terms of their divorce beforehand, Jan said it gave them the opportunity to “get down to the nitty gritty and get it sorted right down to the last thing”.

And, within their time at the hotel, they did just that. “Everything was all done.”

While Jan had a successful experience, she’s quick to note this kind of proceedings will only work for people on amicable terms when parting.

DivorceHotel is the brainchild of CEO Jim Halfens.

He came up with the idea after witnessing his best friend’s “extremely messy” divorce, says David Leckie, global director of DivorceHotel International.

“This led Jim to think that there just had to be a better way to do divorce.”

His idea involves providing all the professional support a couple need to arrange their divorce (“lawyer, mediator, financial advisor, maybe therapist”) all under the same roof at the same time.

Halfens developed the idea in the Netherlands around seven years ago and the company is now operating in the US and the UK, with an Australian expansion planned for 2019.

Psychologist Sharon Draper says a “weekend divorce” could help “soften the blow” of divorce.

While 48 hours might seem quick, a married couple in Australia have to be separated for a year before they can file for such proceedings. Hopefully, in that time, she says both parties would have reconciled their differences emotionally so they’re ready to nut out the details of parting.

However, she believes the process wouldn’t work for everyone.

“If the situation is still an acrimonious one, this process might not be a good one to enter as one party may still feel extremely hurt… and not ready to go through with it,” says Draper.

“Staying in a hotel alone might not be the best thing for this particular person as they would need the familiarity of their home and support of their extended family members and friends.”

Draper says couples with older children may also benefit from involving them in decisions about splitting their time between each parent’s residence. However, such details could be worked out at the hotel and then confirmed with their offspring later.

 

Finalising her divorce wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience, says Jan. Rather, she says it was a “positive” one.

“It’s very intense and very emotional, obviously,” she says, although she thinks tackling the whole thing in a weekend was the best choice for her.

Instead of hiring two separate lawyers and having a divorce “drag on for months and months with paperwork going backwards and forwards between [them]”, Jan was thrilled the whole process was over in a couple of days.

“It was a good experience. I would definitely recommend it.”

From Pre-Nups to Pet-Nups: Marriage Generation Z style

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pet-nupGeneration Z couples are crossing their Ts and dotting their Is before getting hitched, as research shows the rise of the ‘practical prenup’.

A leading divorce lawyer has said that the young generation of future newlyweds are increasingly concerned with making sure assets like pets and alcohol collections are considered before saying ‘I do’.

A recent study found that 42 per cent of women intend to sign a prenup with their partner before they walk down the aisle, compared to 36 per cent of men who feel the same.

The research revealed the rise in what they are calling ‘practical prenups’: an update to the usual written contract a couple enter into before marriage that predetermines what will happen to assets in the event of a divorce.

It was highlighted that 57 per cent of females think businesses should be included in a prenup, compared to 53 per cent of men.

Interestingly, 42 per cent of females also said a future prenup that they would draft should contain pets, compared to 35 per cent of men.

The term ‘pet nup’ actually began to circulate last year when lawyers saw an increase in couples determining what would happen to their beloved animals.

Earlier this year, Direct Line Pet Insurance revealed that nearly 30,000 divorce cases that reach a courtroom involve conflict over a pet.

The law firm believed that young women’s ‘top priorities’ proved to be ‘very sensible’ – with 75 per cent favoring a home and second home when considering what should be included in a prenup (compared to 71 per cent of men) and 69 per cent choosing savings and investments (in comparison to 63 per cent of men.)

Thinking somewhat outside the box, men did seem to consider other material items, with 50 per cent electing for cars and motorcycles, although so too did 43 per cent of women.

While many prenups the world over contain clauses about what happens if one party starts excessively drinking alcohol, it’s rather unusual for a prenup to actually outline who has a right to take ownership of a booze collection.

Some 31 per cent of men surveyed said that wine, whisky and gin collections should be included (versus only 13 per cent of women).

Amanda Rimmer, a Partner in the Family Law division at Stephensons Solicitors LLP, said that younger individuals are likely influenced by celebrity culture.

Details of prenups for modern-day couples like Beyonce and Jay Z, as well as Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, have been widely circulated online.

Kanye West’s track Gold Digger immortalized the lyric, ‘Holla, We want prenup! We want prenup!’ – though ironically, when he wed Kim Kardashian in 2014, their agreement was that he would pay her $1 million a year for 10 years if the marriage didn’t work out. Back then Kim was worth $40 million, but today that net worth stands at a huge $370 million.

According to Amanda, it’s that openness had has led to a generation that are much more accepting of talking about contracts, net worth and assets with their significant other.

‘The stigma of consulting a solicitor ahead of getting hitched has long ago disappeared. Generation Z has grown up influenced by celebrity culture and take a realistic approach to marriage or civil partnerships.’

‘It’s encouraging that young people, especially women, feel comfortable talking about money and want to protect their assets,’ Amanda added.

‘If a relationship does end, and 42 per cent now do, then a prenup can help to protect you and your partner from greater financial and emotional stress. If prepared properly they are given substantial weight in court and while they are not an automatically binding legal document, they can help cut down areas of dispute,’ Amanda added.

Without a prenup, the lawyer noted that individuals run the risk of having to divide ‘everything’ equally down the middle.

‘Deciding to sign-up to this kind of agreement is a very personal decision and one you should make as a couple. I’d always recommend instructing a specialist family law solicitor who has experience in this field and finalizing your agreement well in advance of your ceremony,’ she said.

How to stop your new spouse from cheating your kids out of inheritance

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How to stop your new spouse from cheating your kids out of inheritanceHow would you feel if your estate went to a complete stranger, someone you’d never even met? It’s more likely than you might expect.

Jack* and Jill* were married in 1981 and had two children. They were happily married for 32 years. In that time they both worked and saved and, with help of some late-career compulsory superannuation, built up a tidy nest egg.

The assets Mary inherited from Jack included wealth that Jill had worked so hard for, believing that her kids would ultimately benefit.

In their wills Jack and Jill left their respective estates to each other. They agreed the survivor would look after the children. Jill died from breast cancer at 68. Jack was heartbroken, alone for the first time in decades.

Try as he might to fill his life with hobbies, kids, grandchildren and friends, Jack was lonely. He missed the closeness of a trusted, intimate partner; the companionship for those times when family and friends weren’t around. That’s when, at the age of 71, he met Mary*, 15 years his junior.

For Jack nothing could replace the wonderful years he had spent with Jill. But his life with Mary alleviated that awful loneliness. They had been dating for about six months when Jack invited Mary to live with him. They became a de facto couple.

New will

After a while Mary began to feel that, as she was likely to outlive him, it would be only fair for him to make provisions for her in his will. She understood that Jack wanted his kids to have most of his estate but surely she should get something.

As time passed, Jack became more reliant on Mary and very thankful for her care. He started to feel that leaving her a large portion of his estate was important. Then after Mary confirmed to him that she’d look after his children, Jack agreed to give everything in his estate to her. Her solicitor prepared Jack’s new will.

When Jack died, Mary was his sole beneficiary. In her view Jack’s children, who’d never been very close to her, were doing well and didn’t really need any of Jack’s estate. Mary felt that she and her only child were much more in need, so she managed Jack’s estate for her benefit alone.

The money and assets that Mary inherited from Jack included all the wealth that Jill had worked so hard for, believing that her kids would ultimately benefit. Jill’s estate had passed to a complete stranger.

Is this case unusual? No, it is in fact quite common.

There are a number of different estate planning strategies to avoid this – but first couples have to acknowledge that Jack and Jill’s story could happen to them. Couples need to have the conversation acknowledging that when one of them dies, things change forever.

That change is not a reflection on the past. It does not alter in any way the importance of their relationship – the love and devotion given and received during decades of married life. It simply reflects a new situation, one that neither of them has ever been in and that is therefore unknown.

Worth talking about

Often couples are unwilling to focus on the issue. They may not understand the potential for the problem to occur. One or both may think that raising the issue would be a sign of distrust in their spouse, an indication their marriage was not strong, that they were trying to exert power over their spouse or “rule from the grave” or a view that fixing the problem would be too complicated or costly.

As understandable as these thoughts are, they are not a good reason to put the children’s inheritance at risk. They can be partially overcome by a confidential chat with the family solicitor who could recommend the relevant solution to both members of the couple without needing to reveal the concern was initiated by one of them.

To protect her estate for her children, and as a half-owner in the family home, Jill could have given Jack the right to live in their family home until his death or remarriage after which the home would be sold and the proceeds from Jill’s half share given to the children.

She could also have arranged for Jack to receive only the income from Jill’s share of the couple’s assets and ensure the capital would go to the kids once Jack passed. She could appoint Jack and her two children as joint executors so that her wishes were met.

Protecting your children’s inheritance is about good planning – and that can only happen through pragmatic awareness and recognition of what is possible.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.

Related Family Law Judgments

How to assist victims of financial abuse

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ending-financial-abuseThere are “strong indications” that somewhere between 50 per cent to 90 per cent of family violence cases involve economic abuse, and as such, it is imperative that lawyers know how to support clients through such traumatic incidences, argues one boutique practitioner.

In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Faigenbaum Family Lawyers principal Talya Faigenbaum said, as with other forms of family violence, financial abuse occurs “throughout the social spectrum and does not differentiate between class, culture, background or postcode”.

What is financial abuse

“The effects of financial abuse also cut across sectors: from the telecommunications industry, banking and finance, utilities and essential service providers to housing and tenancy, motor vehicles and visa and migration matters. Indicators of financial abuse can therefore appear in legal claims across a range of courts and tribunals, from the family court to small claims tribunals such as VCAT, local or magistrates courts and immigration tribunals,” she mused.

It is therefore crucial, she surmised, that lawyers in all practice areas are able to identify the signs of financial abuse and take appropriate steps toward assisting their clients.

Ms Faigenbaum explained that financial abuse is an “unlawful pattern of behaviour deliberately designed to undermine a victim’s financial security and autonomy”.

“Commonly, perpetrators of economic abuse will take control of all household finances, restrict a victim’s access to bank accounts, incur debt in the victim’s name through coercion or deception or prevent a victim from gaining independent employment. Like other forms of family violence, economic abuse is highly gendered and can have significant long-term impacts on the lives of women and children,” she said.

“There are some unique aspects to financial abuse, however, which make it distinctively destructive. Primarily this is because the abusive behaviour can continue even after a couple have separated. As a family lawyer I have seen countless situations where one partner uses mechanisms of financial control to inflict ongoing harm, long after a relationship has ended and when other forms of abuse are no longer at their disposal. In this context, victims can remain tied to their abusers for years as they attempt to disentangle complex financial relationships.”

Protecting against financial abuse

There are simple steps lawyers can take to assist a client that may be a victim of financial abuse, she outlined.

“There are valuable resources available online, and for lawyers who do not ordinarily practice in the areas of family law or family violence, it may be helpful to cultivate a connection with frontline family violence specialists. Reaching out to a local community legal centre is a good place to start,” she suggested.

“Financial counsellors also play a critical role in assisting victims of economic abuse as they have more direct access to hardship liaison officers at banks, utilities providers, telecommunications companies and Centrelink.

“Lawyers can actively assist in these referral pathways or simply provide their clients with the information they need to access these services.”

On the question of legislative protections, Ms Faigenbaum said that Australia has “some of the most expansive family violence provisions in the world”, with most Australian states and territories recognising financial abuse as a legislated form of family violence.

“Yet despite this legal recognition, awareness of financial abuse and the remedial responses available are still limited,” she said.

Identifying issues as lawyers

Further, the lack of awareness and understanding of economic abuse among victims, the community, police and even within the legal profession, “all contribute to an ongoing exposure to harm”, she continued.

“As lawyers we are often given intimate access to our client’s financial circumstances, whether we are directly assisting them in resolving a family breakdown, structuring their family trusts, preparing wills or assisting with estate planning or property acquisition and disposal.

“Even as employers, we may encounter situations where a staff member is experiencing one or more variations of financial abuse.”

“Being able to identify and understand the impact of economic abuse and make appropriate referrals is not only an important part of our role as legal practitioners and business owners but will help drive a increased awareness of this often invisible form of family violence.”

Ms Faigenbaum is looking to take meaningful action herself, however, adding she is currently leading “an exciting project” at West Heidelberg Community Legal Service to develop a smartphone app designed to assist victim-survivors and their support workers identify financially abusive behaviour and take steps toward reclaiming their financial security.

“We are still in the early stages of iteration and user testing but it’s proving to be a very valuable tool to assist victims and survivors struggling to recover from the effects of financial abuse. We’re excited about taking it forward,” she said.

Family Court Judge’s ruling overturned by Appeal Court as a ‘gross miscarriage of justice’

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judge-salvatore-vasta

Judge Salvatore Vasta

A Brisbane judge who sentenced a father of two to jail for contempt of court in a family law case has been sharply criticised by Family Court appeal judges, who described his decision as an “affront to justice”.

Last December, Brisbane-based Judge Salvatore Vasta sentenced a man involved in a property dispute with his ex-wife to a maximum 12 months in jail for failing to disclose financial documents on time.

The man, who has two children aged five and nine, spent six days in a maximum-security prison.

He was released pending the outcome of an appeal on the decision.

In a ruling handed down earlier this month, the  overruled Judge Salvatore Vasta’s decision, with Justice Peter Murphy, Justice Michael Kent and Justice Steven Strickland declaring they were comfortably satisfied that “what occurred here in the making of the declaration and order for the husband’s imprisonment constituted a gross miscarriage of justice”.

“We are driven to conclude that the processes employed by the primary judge were so devoid of procedural fairness to the husband, and the reasons for judgment so lacking in engagement with the issues of fact and law to be applied, that to permit the declaration and order for imprisonment to stand would be an affront to justice,” they stated in their ruling.

Judge Salvatore Vasta’s ruling was also roundly condemned by the Law Council of Australia.

“The Law Council is gravely concerned by the conduct of the Federal Circuit Court judge in this matter and the devastating impact of this case on both the unrepresented parties and their young children,” Law Council president Arthur Moses said.

“This case reinforces the fact that not only the outcome of a case but the very way in which family law matters are handled by the courts has direct, life-altering and irreversible consequences for the children and families concerned.”

Judge Vasta has been approached for comment.

‘That’s what I do’

During the initial court hearing, Judge Salvatore Vasta told the man that if he did not hand over the required documents on time, he should “bring your toothbrush”.

“If there isn’t the full disclosure there will be consequences, because that’s what I do,” Judge Vasta told the man.

“If people don’t comply with my orders there’s only one place they go … I don’t have any hesitation in jailing people for not complying with my orders.”

But the Family Court judges determined Judge Salvatore Vasta had “no factual foundation” for the order to imprison the man and he had no legal power to do so.

During the proceedings, the man’s wife told Judge Salvatore Vasta she did not want her former husband to go to jail.

She told Judge Salvatore Vasta that “we have kids together that I have to think about as well, that this affects the kids of the rest of their lives”.

Court merger concerns

Last year, Attorney-General Christian Porter announced plans to merge the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court, promising it would ease the significant delays and costs for people stuck in the system.

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is conducting a wide-ranging review of the system, which is due to be handed to the Federal Government next month.

Many lawyers have been critical of Mr Porter’s merger proposal, which would be the most significant shake-up of the sector since it was established in the 1970s, arguing any changes should wait until the ALRC delivers its findings.

Last October, Family Court Chief Justice John Pascoe told a law conference in Brisbane that family law had become increasingly complex.

“In my view, if legislation and the ALRC report do not assuage public concerns about the family law system, it must surely be time to consider a royal commission into family law,” Family Court Chief Justice John Pascoe said.

Bob Hawke’s Will To Be Legally Challenged By His Daughter

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Bob-Hawkes-daughter-to-dispute-WillA legal brawl appears to be brewing between the daughter of former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke and his widow.

Rosslyn Dillon, Mr Hawke’s youngest daughter, has engaged lawyers to fight Blanche d’Alpuget over the division of his multimillion-dollar will, according to a report in The New Daily.

The website claims Ms Dillon and her two siblings, Sue Pieters-Hawke and Stephen Hawke, each received a payment of $750,000 in the days following their father’s death in May.

Ms d’Alpuget’s son, the artist Louis Pratt, also received the payment,

But Ms Dillon’s discovery that the remainder of Mr Hawke’s vast estate will go to his second wife has reportedly caused anger.

She has engaged the family law firm Tiyce & Lawyers with the intention of contesting the will, on the grounds that it provides inadequate family provisions, The New Daily reports.

Should she and Ms d’Alpuget be unable to reach an agreement, the matter could head to the New South Wales Supreme Court.

Following his time in politics, Mr Hawke was successful in business and his Sydney home in Northbridge was recently sold for $15 million.

Mr Hawke, Labor’s longest-serving PM, died on May 16 at the age of 89, just days before the federal election.

Mr Hawke married Ms d’Alpuget, his biographer with whom he’d had a relationship for some time, in 1995 after splitting from his first wife, Hazel.

Related Family Law Judgments

In Case I Unexpectedly Die – See My Fearless Last Wishes

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The Fearless Folder in ‘The Barefoot Investor for Families’ book by Australian author Scott Pape

Scott Pape from the Barefoot Investor has suggested that we all prepare a ‘fearless folder‘ in the event of our untimely death, so that our family will know all our expectations and social media details not found in a traditional Will.

Deidre, from Victoria, said she decided to put together a fireproof safe after a wrist injury left her unable to work, forcing her husband to take time off to look after their five young sons – all aged under six – while she recovered.

Her wrist has since healed and she has returned to work, but Deidre said she couldn’t help but wonder what would actually happen to her family if she wasn’t there.

So as suggested in the Barefoot Investor’s Barefoot Families book, she prepared a safe, which includes documents and her ‘fearless answers’ to a series of ‘important questions that would be asked’ if she were to die.

‘It’s about preparing for the worst so your family is financially protected. You can be perfectly healthy one minute, then be incapacitated the next,’ she said in “Mums Who Budget & Save.“

“Last year I had a fall where I broke my wrist. I slipped on water on the bathroom floor and landed hard enough on it to need surgery and a plate to repair it. I am fine now, and was very lucky I didn’t bang my head, but it hit home how quickly things can change.

‘This begs the question, what happens to my family if something serious were to happen to me? In the case of my broken wrist, our income was seriously impacted as my husband had to take time off work to look after the kids, fortunately only for a fairly short period of time while my wrist healed.”

Deidre – who has five young boys, including two sets of twins – said she’s the ‘main breadwinner’ in her family.

“So if I were to be seriously injured or die suddenly, my family would be put in a very bad position, so it is very important that I be prepared,” she said.

She used a checklist from “The Barefoot Investor for Families” book by Australian author Scott Pape, to help her compile everything her husband and children needed.

Using a $79 waterproof, fireproof safe from Bunnings Warehouse, Deidre put together a folder of important documents and instructions for her family.

“I’m the main financial organiser in my family, if anything happened to me, figuring out all this stuff would be very tough for my husband, and sorting out a financial nightmare is the last thing a grieving person needs,” she said.

The “fearless answers” include “who will raise our kids if we both die?”, “at what age should the kids receive inheritance” and “what are my funeral wishes”.

Inside the safe, she added both her and husband’s wills, power of attorney, birth certificates, marriage certificate, passports and property paperwork.

She also included instructions for her funeral, such as the kind of memorial she wanted and details of her executor, accountant, lawyer and financial planner.

Deidre also put together the “big list”, which includes all her social media, super, banking accounts, and login details.

She included her net worth – a list of all assets and liabilities and details about her life insurance policy and income protection.

“I’ve made sure I’m insured for a large amount as I have a big family of young children to support. I have my husband as my binding death nomination on my super and he has me as his. You have to specifically ask for this,” she said.

The mother said she also wrote small letters to her husband and five sons.

“Just in case my death was sudden, so I have a chance to tell them how much I love them and how special they are to me,” she said.

Since organising her ‘fearless folder’, Deidre said she feels rest assured her family will be taken care of if she were to suffer an injury or die.

“This is probably the most important thing I’ve ever organised, I feel a sense of relief that this is done so my family is taken care of. I thought I’d share with others as it’s such a brilliant idea, every family needs to do this to protect their loved ones,” she said.

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Euthanasia becomes legal in Victoria

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Victorian firefighter Troy Thornton died in a Swiss euthanasia clinic earlier this year. Pictured with his wife Christine. Picture: AAP/SuppliedSource:AAP

It’s been almost four months since Christine Thornton lay beside her husband and whispered into his ear as he died in a Swiss euthanasia clinic.

It was a good death, the kind the couple had so desperately wanted. Peaceful. Dignified. Full of love.

Christine, who has shared her story to coincide with the start of Victoria’s assisted dying laws today, knew that Troy would still be able to hear her for about two minutes after the drugs began flooding his body.

“To me, that was peace of mind and I just made sure I said everything I could possibly think of to say,” the Victorian office manager and mother-of-two told AAP this week.

“I told him how much I loved him, and how I would make sure the kids would never forget him, that they would know how special they were to him.”

Staff had been asked to gently touch Christie on the head when they were certain Troy was gone but when that moment arrived, she knew instinctively.

“You can feel the difference. I felt it. He was no longer there. It was the shell.”

Soon afterwards, Christine was on a plane with Troy’s ashes, bound for their home state of Victoria and a sad reunion with their children Jack, 17 and Laura, 14.

Months down the track, Christine is frank about the aftermath of euthanasia and says it’s perhaps not what some might imagine.

She says there’s been no second guessing Troy’s decision to die. But there has been a profound sense of comfort in the end of his suffering and the good nature of his death.

“I’m not questioning myself about whether it was the right thing. I know exactly how he was feeling,” Christine said.

“He was scared of what was coming (from his disease), and it was coming over the hill very quickly.

“I’m at peace that I was able to fulfil Troy’s wishes. We had so many conversations about it, over so long. His whole thing was having the right to chose a good death over a bad one. To have dignity. He got that.”

Troy, a veteran Victorian firefighter, was just 54 when he opted to die quickly, by lethal injection, rather than slowly from multiple system atrophy, an incurable and untreatable disease.

If the disease is allowed to run its course, sufferers are reduced to a vegetative state, and can often die choking on their own mucous as crucial functions like swallowing become impossible.

Christine says she and her children are grateful that Troy was able to avoid a death like that.

“They are doing okay. Again, I think it’s the peace that comes with knowing their dad’s not suffering anymore.

“We had so many conversations leading up to this, we had family holidays, we spent so much time together and we were very open – always talking about it, checking in with each other to make sure we were all okay.”

Troy’s decision to die was driven by fear about the end stages of his disease. But Christine says it was also about his role as family protector.

“The kids, they’ve seen and experienced things that kids shouldn’t have to,” she said.

In the days before they flew to Switzerland, Troy choked to the point of unconsciousness, with his family around him.

“He stopped breathing for two minutes. He was worried that if that had happened when we were not home, we could have found him choked to death,” Christine said.

“He just said I know I’m doing the right thing. I can’t be found like this.”

Christine says Troy would be happy that Victoria has become the first jurisdiction in Australia to allow euthanasia in more than two decades.

The laws were too narrow to help him, because he could not find two doctors who would say with certainty that his degenerative disease would kill him within 12 months.

But Christine is adamant that the Victorian legislation must be the start, and not the end, of a public conversation about the lack of end-of-life choices in Australia.

“Troy never thought the first laws would help everyone, but it’s a start,” she said.

“People who don’t believe in euthanasia will never have to choose it. But shouldn’t that option be there for people who do want a choice, who do want a good death.”

As of today, terminally-ill Victorians can now legally ask their doctor for lethal drugs to take their own lives under the nation’s only euthanasia laws.

The state’s voluntary assisted dying scheme is expected to be used by about 150 people annually.

Under the scheme, terminally-ill Victorian adults in intolerable pain and with less than six months to live, or 12 months for neurodegenerative diseases, and who meet 68 safeguards can request their doctor’s help in dying.

But while the laws are now in action, even if someone starts the process today it will take at least 10 days to be completed.

It’s been 18 months since the Victorian parliament narrowly passed the laws during marathon sittings in 2017.

Since then a taskforce has been in charge of establishing how the system will work.

An independent review board and the coroner will keep track and monitor all deaths under the scheme.

BACKLASH TO DIVISIVE LAWS

While the laws have a large amount of support, critics remain, and on Tuesday evening about 50 pro-life activists, including children, took their protest to steps of Parliament House for a candlelit vigil.

The Government anticipates up to 150 people a year will use the scheme.

The laws have been highly divisive.

A woman whose terminally ill husband lobbied hard for assisted dying to be legalised in Victoria is among those “over the moon” the controversial laws have come into effect.

Former Shell Coles Express managing director Peter Short, 57, died in 2014 in palliative care after being given terminal sedation for oesophageal cancer.

The Melbourne man had campaigned hard for the laws.

“I’m over the moon, and it makes me sad to think that Pete is not around to see it, but for everybody else, it’s a great step forward,” his wife Elizabeth Short told 3AW radio.

Mrs Short said Peter was given Nembutal, known as the “peaceful pill”, but in the end chose palliation in hospital.

“He had the choice to end his own life or to choose the route he ended up doing, but it was the greatest gift anybody could have given for him,” she said.

She added people needed to understand terminal sedation already “happens all the time without regulation”.

Go Gentle director Andrew Denton said by putting in place safe and workable assisted dying laws, Victoria had done what no other Australian state was willing to.

“The Victorian voluntary assisted dying law has set the benchmark for how public policy should be designed and implemented in this country,” he said.

“The question now is not if but when other states will follow Victoria’s compassionate lead.”

Catholic bishops issued a last-ditch warning against the contentious laws, with a letter signed by four Victorian bishops warning of a “new and deeply troubling chapter of healthcare”.

“We cannot co-operate with the facilitation of suicide even when it seems motivated by empathy or kindness,” the letter signed by the Melbourne, Ballarat, Sale and Sandhurst bishops said.

Just hours before the new laws came into effect, about 50 protesters with Pro-Life Victoria took to the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House, objecting to the scheme.

“This legislation is coming into effect despite widespread opposition within the medical community,” Pro-life Victoria president Denise Cameron, a former nurse, said.

VICTORIA’S VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING LAWS

WHO CAN APPLY?

• Adults with a progressive, advanced terminal illness and less than six months to live or within 12 months for neurodegenerative diseases

• Suffering must be deemed “intolerable”

• They must be of sound mind

• Must have lived in Victoria for at least 12 months and be an Australian citizen or permanent resident

HOW WILL IT WORK?

• Patients must make three, clear requests

• Patients must initiate discussion of assisted dying and no one else

• They will be assessed by two experienced doctors, including at least one specialist

• Those approved will be granted permits for lethal medications, which must be self-administered

• A permit will be given for doctors to administer medication only where the patient is physically unable

• Only chemists at The Alfred Hospital will be able to prepare the medication

• Doctors do not have to be present when patients administer medication

• The process to apply and receive medication will take at least 10 days

• Unused lethal medication must be returned within 15 days of death

• The Department of Health and Human Services will approve applications

• An independent review board will oversee each step of the process

• Death certificates will record “voluntary assisted dying”

• The coroner must be notified of assisted dying deaths

PENALTIES FOR MISUSE

• If someone breaches the self-administration permit, they face potential life imprisonment

• Anyone who induces a person to request assisted dying faces up to five years jail and substantial fines

• Doctors who suggest the assisted dying scheme to patients face a professional misconduct investigation

Source: Victorian Government

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High Court agrees sperm donor is father as he was involved in girl’s life

on by

sperm donor is a fatherIn the decision: Masson v Parsons [2019] HCA 21, the High Court has found a man who donated his sperm to a lesbian friend to have a child is the father, due to his involvement in the child’s life.

A majority of the bench of the court on Wednesday handed down its decision in the case, which centred on whether state or Commonwealth laws should apply in the case and how they should be defined.

Lawyers for the donor, Robert Masson – the man’s court pseudonym – argued the Commonwealth law should apply, rather than state laws.

Neither the federal nor state laws are definitive on whether sperm donors are automatically parents.

But Mr Masson’s lawyers argued that, under the Commonwealth law, Mr Masson should be the parent, as he is the biological father and was involved in the child’s life.

Mr Masson had donated his genetic material in 2006 in a private, personal insemination to his friend of about 25 years, named under a pseudonym as Susan Parsons.

Mr Masson agreed on the understanding he would help as a parent, provide financial support and physical care.

He is named as the girl’s father on her birth certificate.

He was actively involved in the life and care of the girl and her younger sister, with both calling him “Daddy”, court documents show.

Issues arose when the mother and her partner, Margaret, tried to take the girls, then aged 10 and 9, to live in New Zealand, where the couple married in 2015.

Mr Masson was at first successful in fighting their move overseas, but the Parsons appealed before a full court of the Family Court, which agreed with the women that he was not a legal parent.

They successfully argued that the laws in most of the states rule out a sperm donor from being a father and that Mr Masson was therefore not a parent.

Mr Masson appealed to the High Court where the case was heard in April.

He argued that the Commonwealth law should apply, and said the question of who is a parent should be determined by the circumstances of each case, with reference not only to who provided the genetic material but also who had participated in social and psychological parenting of the child.

His position was backed by Commonwealth Attorney-General Stephen Donaghue, QC, and the independent children’s lawyer.

The term “parent” should take its ordinary and contemporary meaning, they argued.

Mr Masson’s lawyers said that, as he had had considerable involvement in the child’s upbringing, including volunteering at the school canteen, he was not simply a sperm donor but the father.

The High Court agreed, saying in a summary of its judgment on Wednesday: “The majority held that no reason had been shown to doubt the primary judge’s conclusion that the appellant was a parent of the child.”

With AAP, Alexandra Back

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