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2009/15: Should Australia retain "no-fault" divorce?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: Robert Todd is the managing partner and president of Robert M. Todd, P.A. and Family Law Solutions. In this video, he explains no-fault divorce as it exists in some states of America.
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What they said...
'Requiring fault would be bound to hurt the children who will be caught in the crossfire'
Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, an American sociologist
'Has no fault divorce really just created a escape for those who are responsible for ending the marriage when it suits them?'
Julie Singleton, Family Law solicitor
The issue at a glance
On July 10, 2009, Tony Abbott, the Opposition families and Aboriginal affairs spokesperson called for a return to the fault-based system of divorce which was discarded in 1975, to be replaced by a 'no-fault' system.
Mr Abbott's plan, outlined in his soon-to-be released book, 'Battlelines', would see additional grounds for divorce reintroduced, including adultery, cruelty, habitual drunkenness and imprisonment.
It would be similar to the defunct Matrimonial Causes Act.
Mr Abbott's proposal has met with a mixed response. Some groups have welcomed what they see as an attempt to address some of the shortcomings of the Family Law Act. Others have been highly critical of what they see as a return to an adversarial and unsatisfactory system.
It is interesting to note that no member of Mr Abbott's own party has come out and given unqualified support to his proposal.
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