Subject: What Our Children Teach
From: <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 09:26:09 +1100

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Issue 182 - 20th February,2006 	Go to our website Here
<http://www.fathersonline.org/> 	 
 
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*	Welcome Warwick
*	Grandads
*	Laughter
*	Single Dads
*	All you need is Love
*	Thought of the Week
*	Special Feature
*	News & Info
*	Dad's Prayer
*	About Us

Welcome Warwick

 <http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/real%20man.jpg>
Recently I was asked to speak at a 'Bruise Your World - What is a Real
Man?' father and son night.  You might well ask, 'What is a Bruise Your
World night?'  That is the question that was on my mind when I walked in
the door of the Youth Auditorium.  The first thing I noticed was the
meat on the barbecue and the ginger beer /Coca Cola option.  They say
that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  Bruise Your World
was going for gold already.

The next thing I noticed was the extreme surfing video on the giant
screen and all the game options.  Daytona car racing simulator, really
loud live music, pinball machines, indoor soccer games table and to cap
it off, we had a gigantic vertical bungee, a competition game between
two people who run along a blow-up race, attached to a spring-like
leash.  The challenge is to reach or place an object on some Velcro
before you lose all your dignity and get pulled back to the start upside
down. It seemed that all the games were about competition and what else
is there in a man's life anyway?  I was pitted against Paul, built like
the Eiffel Tower, and unfortunately for me he used his height to his
advantage.  But I'll beat him next time.

It was time for the speaker - me, but first I got my friend Juita to
speak before me.  Juita, a champion footballer, is built like a tank,
and he entertained us all by telling how he used his muscles on the
field to knock his opponents out of the game.  After convincing us all
of his  opponent-crushing-abilities in competition football, he then
told us something entirely different about himself.

To Juita, being a real man was more about loving your wife and kids.
Being a real man was taking responsibility for your reproductive organs.
Juita shared some of his mistakes and failures with us all because only
a 'real man' can admit that he is wrong.  Anyway I wasn't prepared to
argue with him.  One blow from him would put me in the emergency ward.

I then asked about 6 or 7 dads to tell us their opinion of what a 'real
man' is.  It was interesting to note that all of the men had common
things to say and it wasn't about competition.  Words such as:
responsibility, humility, openness, faithfulness, the ability to cry and
show emotion, keeping your word, integrity and commitment in marriage,
long term commitment to provide love care, nurture and protection for
our children over our life span, were talked about.  At times, as the
men shared their feelings, thoughts and mistakes, they found it
difficult not to cry.  Here was a group of men, speaking from their
hearts to a group of boys, adolescents and young men.  Everyone was
listening and drinking it in.  For me, the most moving story was a young
father who had his two young
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/Father%20&%20Son
%20Walleye%20fishing.jpg> teenage sons present.  Craig told how he had
one father and five stepfathers, but with all due respect to any
stepfathers present, that was 5 stepfathers too many.  He encouraged the
young men present to become responsible fathers and to change their
families by proactively loving and remaining faithful to their own wives
and children.  Craig also pointed out that this was the best way to
change the world as well. One father at a time. One family at a time.Is
that why you are reading this newsletter?

Lovework

Just do what Craig said, and watch how many problems you will solve.
Try it and find out!

Yours for more real men

Warwick Marsh

PS This week the vote will be taken to pass the fatally flawed 'Shared
Parental Responsibility Bill 2005' in Federal Parliament.  The children
of Australia, who can no longer see their fathers because of the
systemic corruption within the family law system, would greatly
appreciate your support.  For more comment on the many different ways
you could get involved to help bring justice to our children and
equality for men and women, read Ian Windsor and Ash Patil's comments in
our section: Single Fathers - Putting Our Children First.

________________________________________ 

Warwick Marsh  has been married to Alison for 30 years. He is 
the father of five children, four boys and one girl, ranging in 
age from 25 years to 13 years.  Warwick is a musician, 
songwriter, producer and public speaker who likes to think he 
can still laugh at himself.

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Grandads

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The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands 

in moments of comfort and convenience, 

but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King

 
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0tall.jpg> 

 

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Laughter

 
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/Student%20Writin
g.jpg> 

 Letter home from boarding school... 

Dear Dad, 

$chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very
hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can't think of anything I need, $o if
you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear
from you. 

Love,
Your $on. 

 

A week later..... a letter from "home" 

Dear Son, 

I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep
even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge
is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh. 

Love,
Dad 

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Single Dads

 

Putting Our Children First
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_fishing.jpg> 

Separated Dads Demand a Presumption of Equal Parenting

I am sure that hundreds of thousands of Aussie dads would share my
disappointment with the government for failing to allow good fathers to
continue sharing child-rearing responsibilities with their ex-partners.
Its much touted Shared Parental Responsibility Bill, 2005 (SPR) is
little more than maternal custody and paternal liability which is what
we've already got.

A presumption of SPR exists for married parents with an added
presumption of shared custody/equal parenting built in. At separation
the presumption of equal parenting is automatically extinguished for
fathers causing some to give up in despair and forcing others into a
protracted and costly custody battle, knowing that the odds are stacked
against them. In the vast majority of separations, the family law system
forces good fathers to capitulate and accept far less for themselves and
their children than is reasonable. The consequences of paternal
alienation are well known, but the government, aided and abetted by the
anti-fatherhood movement (AFM), will not bring itself to admit that this
is crazy public policy. 

Fatherhood should not be extinguished by separation. And yet the AFM won
the day convincingly and we?ve ended up with what we already have,
namely SPR. Their trump card was the 'but it will all be too disruptive
for the children routine'. Thus the government acceded to the demands of
mean-spirited people with petty arguments, thereby failing yet again to
address the family law fatherlessness problem its parliamentary
committee (PC) was commissioned to fix.

The AFM's stock standard argument is 'all men are wife bashers and/or
child abusers and if they aren't, they have the potential to be'. This
premise underpinned all custody decisions but now it is beginning to
lose currency with the government. So too, is the 'all men are hopeless,
they can't even boil water', argument. Even when single fathers meet all
the parenting competencies, and live near the mother, and have all the
resources in place needed for equal parenting, the AFM still opposes
them. 

The pettiness of their argument is typified by a submission to the
Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs (PC), by a well-known
organisation, Focus on the Family, that espouses traditional family
values and at the same time publicly opposes equal parenting. They use
the sure-fire, 'the child's need for routine and stability', argument.
They claim that a child is no better off in a shared custody arrangement
and they quote Dr Judith Wallerstein, a tireless campaigner against
equal parenting:

Comparing children in joint physical custody with those raised in sole
custody homes shows that the amount of time a child spends with each
parent is unrelated to how well that child copes with life in a family,
at school, or any other measure of social and psychological adjustment.
Not true!  We know that the worst situation for a child, on average, is
to be raised in a sole parent, fatherless household. This was precisely
the problem the parliamentary committee was commissioned to resolve.

Again according to this organisation, not only are children no better
off in a shared custody arrangement, they are far worse off. In support
of their argument they further quote Dr Wallerstein who speaks of some
young children:

Who after returning from dad's house go around mum's house touching all
the familiar objects 'their bed, the dresser, their toys'
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/concentration-1.
jpg> just to make sure they are real. They feared their home would have
disappeared while they were gone.Teachers can often tell when older
children have made the residential shift because they have a hard time
settling down, requiring a day or two to settle into a new routine and
to be able to concentrate. This results in the dangers of lost homework
and falling behind the other students.

What unbridled, self-serving nonsense! Almost everything we do is
disruptive - going to work, marrying, having children, holidaying and
even dying. 

They believe that 'these characteristics would be exacerbated if
children must spend equal time with both parents'. And they conclude
that they 'believe that the concept of a 'rebuttable presumption' that
children will spend equal time with each parent after separation is not
realistic'.  

Tragically, the government is hell bent on proceeding full steam ahead
with its anti-fatherhood legislation, fuelled by the machinations of
experts of the calibre, none less than Dr Wallerstein and her disciples.
I'd like to assure the government and the neurotic little chickens
running around squawking about the sky falling, that it won't. 

For the benefit of the government and its anti-fatherhood chums, we
already have a `one size fits all' regime and we don't want another.
The good fathers of Australia want a rebuttable presumption of equal
parenting. Contrary to the misinformation spread by the Falling Sky
Society and its AFM mates, fathers accept that not all children will
spend equal time with each parent after separation because it is not
always realistic and in many cases it is completely unworkable. That is
the whole point of the rebuttable presumption. It would quickly
eliminate the unrealistic and unworkable cases. 

Its great advantage however, is that it would open the floodgates for
tens of thousands of children each year whose fathers meet all the
'eligibility' requirements for shared custody to continue a meaningful
relationship with them. The costs of inconvenience to children must be
measured against the benefits of having a father.

For the past 17 years I have helped good fathers prepare custody cases.
While falling far short of the mark, the proposed legislation in
principal will give good fathers a small window of opportunity for
presenting their case for equal parenting. The Family Law Court will
most likely continue to ignore these demands for justice.  When they do,
we must bring it to our parliamentarians' attention. My great fear
however, is that the Family Relationship Centres will be staffed by the
AFM who will disregard inappropriate behaviour by an uncooperative
parent, forcing the other to capitulate or litigate. 

Never has the scouts' motto been so timely. 'Be prepared ' thoroughly'. 

I can be contacted through my website.

http://www.windsorparalegal.com.au <http://www.windsorparalegal.com.au/>
[email-masked] <mailto:[email-masked]>  

Ian Windsor

 

Editorial Note: Ash Patil, from Fathers for Equality has asked us to
publish the information below to all our leaders. Ash has developed the
parliamentary email megaphone, a great way to express your passion to
put our children first.  He also lists some great resources that prove
the point.  We encourage you to make your voice heard for the children
of Australia.

The Family Law Amendment Bill (2005) is scheduled to be debated and
voted on in the Senate this week. 

Australian Parenting Group, Fathers4Equality, who had recently been
invited to speak to the Senate on this Bill, have yesterday distributed
a Research Paper entitled "Parents are Forever...even if Marriages are
not" the 113* 'supportive federal MPs and Senators of a 'presumption of
pro-equal parenting time', in their bid to persuade the Attorney General
to tighten the equal parenting provisions in this Bill because of
concerns that the Family Court will undermine the intent of the Bill,
which is to substantially increase equal parenting time (Shared
Residence) outcomes.(much like it did of the 1995 shared parenting
reforms)

*Please note that the view on this topic of 30% of Senators and MPs was
not revealed by the said recipients of the survey. 

The research paper, along with an extensive citation addendum, document
the large body of credible academic literature available that emphasises
the benefits of substantially equal parenting time to the welfare and
safety of children of separated families, amongst other benefits, and
conversely, the significantly higher emotional, physical and sexual
risks to children associated with the current one-size fits all sole
parenting norm.

 (1) 'Parents are Forever...even if Marriages are not' - A research
based advocacy for a presumption of equal parenting time after
separation

http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equalit
y.nsf/files/
ParentsAreForever_2006_March.pdf/$FILE/ParentsAreForever_2006_March.pdf
<http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equali
ty.nsf/files/ParentsAreForever_2006_March.pdf/$FILE/ParentsAreForever_20
06_March.pdf>  

(2) Annotated Research Bibliography - extensive collections of citations
that support benefits of substantially equal parenting time for children
& parents.

http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equalit
y.nsf/files/
ResearchforSharedResidence.doc/$FILE/ResearchforSharedResidence.doc
<http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equali
ty.nsf/files/ResearchforSharedResidence.doc/$FILE/ResearchforSharedResid
ence.doc>  

(3) Most recent Press Release: "Equal Parenting laws AN INEVITABILITY,
says Australian Parenting group"

http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equalit
y.nsf/pages/
EqualParentingInevitability
<http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equali
ty.nsf/pages/EqualParentingInevitability>  

(4) A recent Press Release: "Senate flooded with submissions from
Disaffected Fathers"

http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equalit
y.nsf/pages/
InquirySubmissions
<http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equali
ty.nsf/pages/InquirySubmissions>  

(5) Photos - James Adams (Fathers4Equality Inquiry Spokesperson and
Co-author of Research Material.

http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equalit
y.nsf/files/
JamesAdams_DadandDaughter_Give_me_that_dummy6.JPG/$FILE/JamesAdams_Dadan
dDaughter_Give_me_that_dummy6.JPG
<http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equali
ty.nsf/files/JamesAdams_DadandDaughter_Give_me_that_dummy6.JPG/$FILE/Jam
esAdams_DadandDaughter_Give_me_that_dummy6.JPG>  

http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equalit
y.nsf/files/JamesAdams_DadandDaughter_Tug-of-war2.JPG/$FILE/JamesAdams_D
adandDaughter_Tug-of-war2.JPG
<http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equali
ty.nsf/files/JamesAdams_DadandDaughter_Tug-of-war2.JPG/$FILE/JamesAdams_
DadandDaughter_Tug-of-war2.JPG>  

(6) List of submissions to the recent Senate Inquiry into Family Law
Amendment: 85% of all submissions surprisingly being from Fathers

http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/family_law/submission
s/sublist.htm
<http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/family_law/submissio
ns/sublist.htm>   

(7) US Iowa article showing that the 'Consideration of Equal Parenting
Time' provision in Family Law had categorically failed to increase
Shared Residence in Iowa, resulting in only 13 joint custody outcomes
since its introduction.

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2006/03/21/news/metro/
doc441ed2cfd7ffa296763768.txt
<http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2006/03/21/news/metro/doc441ed2cfd7f
fa296763768.txt>  

(8) Equal Parenting Time presumptions are being enacted in law all over
Europe. Brussels is soon to do the same:

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=24&story_i
d=28617&name=Divorced+parents+set+to+gain+co-custody
<http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=24&story_
id=28617&name=Divorced+parents+set+to+gain+co-custody> + 

(9) Australians overwhelmingly support a presumption of Shared
Residence.

http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equalit
y.nsf/pages/publicopinion
<http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/equalparenting/fathers4equali
ty.nsf/pages/publicopinion>  

Why the Bill will fail to realise its intentions:

**The 1995 Family Law reforms, with remarkably similar intentions to the
current Bill, failed to increase shared parenting arrangements (and in
fact reduced them), because the language of the legislation was not
explicit enough to ensure compliance with the spirit and intent of the
legislation. The current Bill is similarly structured to be again
ignored by a Court that has a remarkably entrenched "sole custody -
winner takes all" approach to child custody decisions.

 

**The Family Court (and Relationships Australia) have made submissions
to the various Inquiries pre-ceding this Bill, with quite explicit
objections to the concept of equal parenting time or anything like it.
Considering the key role these institutions will play in applying these
new laws, there are well founded concerns that the intent of the current
Bill will be critically undermined by these institutions, unless the
equal parenting provisions in this Bill are strengthened.

 

**The vast majority of Family Court judges have indicated via their
judgments that they believe that equal parenting time or close to it is
not in the best interests of children. The current Bill's request to
consider equal parenting time is therefore open to rejection on this
basis alone, in EACH AND EVERY INSTANCE. 

 

**The same Amendments were made in Iowa, USA in 2004. They have been
CATEGORICAL FAILURES resulting in only 13 cases of joint physical
custody since. Ohio is now in the process of debating the strengthening
of the Legislation to include a "presumption that equal parenting time
is in the best interests of the child". These laws failed in Ohio and
they will fail in Australia unless they are strengthened.

Changes required to the Bill in order to better fulfil its intent:

(1) To rename the Bill the Family Law Amendment (Equal Parenting Time)
Bill 2005, to ensure that the intent of the Bill is fully acknowledged
by the Family Court and ancillary institutions.

(2) To enact a presumption of equal parenting time (the starting point),
rebuttable if child abuse can be proved.

(3) To ensure that all children of separated families are judged
according to the same legal standard, as such, the passage of the new
Bill to be treated as a change in circumstance, thus allowing all
children to exercise their rights to access and engage with both their
parents. 

(4) To provide for continuous disclosure of equal parenting outcomes
once the Bill has been passed, and to require a Parliamentary Inquiry
twelve months after the introduction of the amendments to review the
effectiveness of the legislation to achieve the aim of equal parenting
time as a norm. 

=============================================

Please ask the Senators www.aph.gov.au <http://www.aph.gov.au/>   to
contact the Attorney General and the Prime Minister advising them of
your concerns about the Family Law Amendment Bill in its current state,
and indicate your support for an amendment to include a presumption of
Equal Parenting Time. To use the Parliamentary Megaphone go to:
http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org
<http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/>   

Please contact Ash Patil [email:
[email-masked]
<mailto:[email-masked]>  ] (mobile:
0437-967-955) or James Adams (mobile: 0417 258 364) anytime to discuss
this very important changes to Family Law. 

 A rebuttable presumption of equal parenting time is about children, and
it's about time!

"Do you know that over 90% of Australians support equal custody after
separation? Show your support by signing the Online Equal Parenting
Petition

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All you need is Love

  

Men Being Real

By Craig Bennett

Last week I spoke about being committed to our families, and how I made
a re-commitment to God in regards to being committed to my family, with
a strainer post as my witness. Today I want to talk more about
commitment to our families, trying to ensure our families do stay
together. I have been involved with the Fatherhood Foundation since its
inception and I am totally sold out on what Warwick and his wife are
doing to build up strong families in this great nation of ours. 

  <http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/man_kiss.jpg> 

Last week I mentioned how a mate said to me, after his marriage fell to
pieces, 'It was only a little affair', and I replied that there is no
such thing, it has enormous consequences. Men we have to be mentally
prepared to be committed to our families, committed to our wives,
committed to our children, committed to our grandchildren, committed to
strengthening the families across this nation, and in doing so, we will
strengthen this nation in which we live, to be even stronger then what
it is now.

We need to as men strengthen our minds, so as to be able to strengthen
our resolve to do what is best for our families and our selves. One of
the greatest causes of family breakdown comes from when we men start to
fantasise about what it would be like to have a bit of romance with
someone else. Perhaps we might look at the girl from the office, the
neighbour across the street, the girl at the local takeaway etc,
thinking wow, I'd like to do???..

Another area that breaks down our resolve in being committed to our
families, and truly weakens our minds is pornography, have you ever
thought that by looking at naked women, apart from your wife, you have
already broken faith with her? Your defences are already weakened, your
mind has already been filled with sexual desires for
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other women, and so when another woman does come along your path, your
mind, your desires are already primed to break faith with your family.
Not only in the looking at the pictures and reading the stories, filling
out minds with stories about other women, and we compare them with our
wives, and so the circle of weakness grow stronger, our desires grow
stronger and then one day we find an opportunity to flirt, or the desire
to visit a brothel becomes stronger as we drive past one, and eventually
we do succumb to our already weakened mind, and find ourselves in a
situation that has broken our commitment to our families.

Commitment takes resolve, it means action, and it means our minds have
to be ready to defend our families at all costs. You might be reading
this now, thinking, 'Why should I deny myself a little bit of pleasure
and spice', and my answer to that is, you are not denying yourself
anything, you are actually nourishing yourself, nourishing and feeding
your family and looking after both yourself and your family and denying
your self and your family the experience of being torn apart by
adultery. 

A famous man once said, 'you become what you think about', lets get our
minds of stuff that we don't want to become, instead thinking about
stuff that we do want to become.

_________________________________________

Craig Bennett has been married for 8 years and has 5 children, three of
whom are stepchildren. He has recently established a ministry called:
Men Being Real.  To subscribe to this go to:
[email-masked]
<mailto:[email-masked]>   

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Michael Kiely's book 'Man Overboard' is still available and will give
you keys to win the battle of love and save your marriage from
destruction. To get your free copy simply send your request with a copy
of the first page of your fathersonline (which contains your first name
and email address), to Michael Kiely: [email-masked]   with
'Free copy of Man Overboard' written in the subject line. Make sure you
give Michael some feedback on his kindness in giving you a copy, free of
charge.

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Thought of the Week

 
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/lonely%20boy.jpg
> 

It may be hard on some fathers

not to have a son,

but it is much harder on a boy

Not to have a father.

Sara Gilbert

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Special Feature

Learning to Listen
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/man%20listening.
jpg> 

By Richard Hardy

'Dad ' dad '.' dad .'.!. daaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!!?  I'm a terrible listener.
My poor children and wife - sometimes I just don't hear them when
they're trying to get my attention or tell me something.  I just get so
caught up in my own thoughts I just don't hear anything else.  I guess
we all have our weaknesses and this is probably one of my greatest.
Believe me, I'm working on it and I've asked my kids to help me.  I've
asked them to be patient with me and in return I have told them I will
do my best to be a better listener.

Listening, really listening and understanding are so important when
trying to resolve conflicts and even minor 'scraps' with your kids.  I
was reminded of this recently when I was taking the kids for a bike ride
early one Sunday morning.

We bought my son a new bike for Christmas and he is just mad about it.
Whenever I can, I take him riding and it's a great way for us to spend
time together and both take in some fresh air and exercise.  On this
particular morning we were taking my daughter as well and she was going
to ride in the kid's seat mounted on the back of my bike.  She has been
in it since she was 3 years old and she just loves it!. or so I thought.

As soon as we were about to get going the tears started, and she started
to wail:

'Dad, I don't want to go for a bike ride.'

That morning, I really didn't feel like going for ride either - I was
still half asleep.

'Well I've promised your brother we are going to go for a ride and
that's what we're going to do,' I insisted.  As I lent over to pick her
up to put her in the seat, she stepped away with her arms folded and a
big pout on her face.

'No!' she said.

I felt my stomach tighten and my patience was slipping.  In my mind, I
was already picking her up and just putting her in that seat.  She had
agreed to come and my wife was out, so she was just going to have to
come.  But in that split second in which we all have the chance to
choose the way we respond to a situation, I chose another way. I chose
to listen.

'What's the matter sweetheart'? I asked.  "You really don't want to go,
do you'?

'No I don't,' she sobbed, suddenly a little calmer.  'Dad, I'm a big
girl now, I start school tomorrow and that seat is for little kids.'

All of a sudden I realised, I understood.  I used to pick her up from
pre-school in that seat.  She had now decided in her own mind, that as
she was about to start school, she was growing up and had moved on from
the 'little kids seat'.  I realised she had a very valid reason for her
seemingly difficult behaviour.

I picked her up and held her until the tears stopped and told her I
understood she was a big girl now.  I suggested we make this her last
ride ever in the seat.  She agreed and we all enjoyed her last ride on
the back of my bike.

So you can see that I'm learning - learning to really listen and
understand.  Next time you are challenged by your child's behaviour give
it try.  You might be pleasantly surprised.

_________________________________________

Richard has been married for 12 years.  He has a son, 7 years old and a
daughter 5 years old.  Richard considers that his most important work is
to be the best dad he can be for his children.  He holds an Associate
position at an international engineering consultancy where he works as a
professional civil engineer.

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News & Info

 
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/steve%20fielding
.jpg> Family First Dissenting Report on Family Law Reform Bill (2005)

The Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Bill 2005 is
the result of a number of parliamentary inquiries, starting with the
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community
Affairs inquiry which began in June 2003.  This Bill is central to the
hopes of many people in the community, particularly parents and also
extended families, who have been damaged by the entrenched views of the
Family Court against equal parenting.

But Family First is strongly of the view that this Bill does not go far
enough.

The Bill should focus on equal parenting "time" rather than equal
parenting "responsibility".  That is what children need most of all -
time with their mother and father. And love. Equal parenting basically
means shared residence.  Shared residence doesn't mean sharing living
arrangements, but sharing bringing up the child so the child will spend
some days at mum's house and some days at dad's house each week. If
parents do not see their child and engage with their child, it does not
count.

If a parent has done nothing wrong, they should not suffer by being
excluded from equal time with their children. That is wrong and unfair. 

The question we must always ask is: what is in the best interests of the
child? That is Family First's top priority; the welfare of children.

The Family Court is the worst place for Australia's children. We know
that "in 2000-01 only 2.5% (329) of residence orders were for joint
residence." In almost 98 per cent of cases, an Australian child will
lose one of their parents after a Family Court decision.  We are in
danger of creating a stolen generation.

That is why Family First will be introducing amendments for rebuttable
presumption of equal parenting time, or joint residency for children,
after relationship breakdown.  That is the best outcome for children,
who will be far better off if we can ensure families can stay together,
even after a marriage has failed.

Senator Steve Fielding

Leader of the Family First Party

Family First Senator for Victoria

For full report go to page 71 at the following link:
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/family_law/report/rep
ort.pdf
<http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/family_law/report/re
port.pdf>    

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

MEDIA RELEASE

Internet Porn Policy Breakthrough
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/kim%20beazley.jp
g> 

The Fatherhood Foundation congratulates Mr Beazley and the Labor Party
on their brilliant initiative to call for mandatory filtering of
internet pornography at ISP level.

Warwick Marsh, founder of the Fatherhood Foundation and convenor of the
bipartisan Sexual Integrity Forum www.sif.org.au
<http://www.sif.org.au/>   held in Parliament House, Canberra in August
2005 said, "This is a great move by the Australian Labor Party to
protect the children of Australia from being exploited by the
multi-billion dollar porn industry.  Whilst women continue to be
portrayed as sex slaves on the home computers of our nation, they will
never achieve true equality in Australia.  The current internet porn
highway into Australian homes is being used by paedophiles and child
molesters to exploit our children.  The Labor Party filtering policy is
a great advance and we hope that Senator Coonan will listen to the voice
of reason and act quickly to protect our children."

Mr Marsh continued, "We are greatly appreciative of
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/jenny%20george.j
pg> Jennie George, Member for Throsby, who was a co-sponsor of the
Sexual Integrity Forum along with Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells,
Senator for NSW. It might be noted that Jennie George wrote to all the
local libraries in the Illawarra region regarding their policy on
internet pornography and was greatly disappointed in their complete lack
of understanding of the damaging effect of their inadequate policies to
protect our children from pornography.  The Labor Party's policy will
solve this problem if the libraries accept the clean feed option."

"This is great news for the families and children of Australia."

For more information contact:

Warwick Marsh

0418 22 5212

02 4272 6677

[email-masked] <mailto:[email-masked]>  

www.sif.org.au <http://www.sif.org.au/>   

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Dad's Prayer

 
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/man%20family.jpg
> 

Dear God

Help me look past my desire 

to compete with other men

and realise there is far more to being a man 

than just winning in games of athletic
or mental prowess, 

however fulfilling that might be.

Help me win the race of love

by staying committed to the end

and even when I fail,

which we all do,

help me get back up and keep running

in the long-distance race of love,

because every woman wants a long term lover,

and every child wants a long term father.

'Two becoming one' 

is still the secret of love's success 

 
<http://www.bosweb.com.au/content/EB3TemplateImages/771/man_woman%20hugg
ing.jpg> 

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About Us

Mission Statement & Help Us!

 
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h%20October,2005_Foundation%20Logo%20180.jpg> 
Mission Statement 

The Fatherhood Foundation is a charitable, non profit incorporated
association with a goal to inspire men to a greater level of excellence
as fathers, by encouraging and educating them, thereby renewing and
empowering families.

Click here for more information about us
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Help Us!

The Fatherhood Foundation believes that the key to life is giving.
That's why this newsletter is given freely without expectation.  Life is
also about relationships.  That's what being a good father is all about,
developing relationships with your loved ones.
 
If you would like to give financially to the Fatherhood Foundation,
please mail your cheque or money order to:
Fatherhood Foundation
PO Box 440
WOLLONGONG  NSW  2520
AUSTRALIA

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