Correspondence

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------------2010

The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

Dear Prime Minister

The Government only recently apologised to the forgotten children saying that the law had failed them.  The law is still failing children our grandchildren by allowing parents to deprive their children from knowing their heritage and extended families.

 I am a grandparent denied contact with my grandchildren by their own mother, my daughter through no fault of my own and no logical rational reason. They live close by 10 minutes away, yet I have never seen them, not even a photo.

My daughter a happy healthy child changed during her adolescence. What had been a wonderful and close mother/daughter relationship critically broke down during this time. I tried many times to mend the relationship, but was unsuccessful.

I recently applied through the courts for parenting orders to enable my grandchildren to know me and to develop a relationship with me and I was ill-treated by all parties including the Family Report writer, the ICL, the Magistrate and the Appeal Judge. More! I had costs ordered against me just for asking to see my grandchildren and standing for their rights, no one else was! 

They said “I was vexatious that I should have known better than to ask to see my grandchildren” despite the Family Law Act 1975 endorsing the rights of the child to know and communicate with their grandparents regardless of parental objection. This was cruel, and a breach of the law. My grandchildren’s rights were overlooked. The “paramountcy principle” was ignored (Family Law Act 1975) so my grandchildren and I were granted no contact, and I am their only living grandmother! This is critical! So is it that my daughter has my granddaughters calling a stranger to our family “grandma” a mother of one of my daughter’s  ex boyfriends!

More, I was mistreated and abandoned by Legal Aid to run my case alone even when I met the means and assets tests.  I was excluded from any legal assistance including pro bono. With no legal training, running my own case was truly daunting. I did have a McKenzie friend present, G----- -------- and I quote the following he wrote in a submission about my case:
“A common tenant of our legal system is that Justice must be done and seen to be done. Justice did not happen in M ------------‘s  case.”

Grandparents & grandchildren denied contact is an epidemic occurring throughout Australia.  Parents who deny their own children contact with their grandparents is “Child Abuse and Parental Abuse”.  Studies suggest these children denied contact do not do as well; children need more than just their nuclear family.

The practice of law is unethical and abusive and as applied is promoting and fostering child abuse. I experienced this first hand. I have been there in our courts recently and what I witnessed in relation to the application of the law is alarming!

From the style and content of the first instant judgement in my case it is patently clear that the Federal Magistrate failed to make anything remotely resembling an unbiased and reasonable assessment of the facts as presented to him. It is also evident that in deriving his judgements of fact and law, the Federal Magistrate has ducked and weaved around salient facts and made liberal interpretations of others to draw conclusions that range from unlikely to improper.  I say the same about the Appeal Judgement. (Raymond Hoser made these submissions and many others about a judgement which found him guilty of contempt of court on 27.11.01 and which apply to my judgements)

The law is failing grandparents and grandchildren.  I am affected by the present law and its application to the extent it is impacting on my health and well being that I have not returned to work.  The court process and judgments in my case injured me.

I would like to discuss my story and the present law and how it is still failing the children.
Yours faithfully

Carol----------------
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Telephone -----------

 ...  June 2010

..................

Family Law Branch

Attorney-General’s Department

3-5 National Circuit

BARTON ACT 2600

Dear .................

Thank you for your letter dated .. June 2010 in reply to my letter to the Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP in relation to my abuse in the courts for seeking my granddaughters rights to know me, my social exclusion from legal assistance, the abuse of the Family Law Act 1975 (amended 2006) by the Magistrate, Judge, ICL and Family Report writer, and my request to discuss how the law is still failing the children of today.

Unfortunately, your response to my letter fails to address the issues, all four raised as outlined above.  Your comments repeat the Family Law Act 1975 (amended 2006) to me which I am well resourced about and what the Government is doing and I am well aware of that too.  While my concerns about the Family Report writer were addressed to the court registry, including the HCCC (twice) they were ignored saying the courts should have dealt with it, but it was not.  Similarly were complaints about the ICL. 

While the Government is currently considering the findings and recommendations of recently released reports by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the AIFS was instructed to deal only with cases after the separation of the parents.

The issue of grandchildren who are deprived of a relationship with grandparents (where the parents are not separated) ought to be addressed.  This problem is much more common than the cases after separation and it deserves an investigation.

I refer you to the article in the Sunday Mail (Brisbane Courier) 6 June 2010 (copy attached) as an illustration of what has been happening.

As the issues I raised fall within the Attorney-General’s portfolio responsibilities (as stated in your letter) they need addressing.  It's difficult ...................................................................

Children matter, grandparents matter too.  The Family Law Act 1975 (amended 2006) is not only failing the children, but grandparents,  it failed me too.  I would like to discuss this with you.

.... June 2010

The Hon Kevin Rudd MP

Prime Minister

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600

Dear Prime Minister

I refer to my letter sent to you dated ...  May 2010, and which was referred to the Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP.

I did receive a letter in reply dated ... June 2010 from ............, ...............Family Law Branch, Attorney-General’s Department (copy attached).

Unfortunately, the response I received from .............. failed to address the issues I had raised in my letter to you and has prompted me to write to ........... which I did yesterday.

While M................. acknowledged that the issues I had raised fall within the Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland’s portfolio responsibilities, I am concerned they will not be addressed as ......  stated in ..... letter “Unfortunately neither the Attorney-General nor the Attorney-General’s Department is able to provide further assistance to you on this matter, and will not respond to future correspondence about these issues.”

This is critical if our politicians refuse to discuss with us issues which are so vital and important to our community. Your Government did send out an invitation inviting the public to come forward if the law was still failing when you delivered your “sorry” to the forgotten generation.  The laws of our nation are still failing our children today.  Children are being robbed of their grandparents and extended family for no valid reasons shattering many lives.

I enclose a copy of my letter sent to ............. yesterday dated ... June 2010 including the newspaper article enclosed with it for your information.

Yours sincerely

Carol ..........................

Cc: The Hon Julia Gillard MP

      Parliament House

      CANBERRA ACT 2600

Encl.

Notification was received from the Attorney General's Department that no further correspondence will be entered into.  The Attorney General has more important things to do other than to attend to the issue of children's rights being abused by the people he employs.   

Politicians are in violation of their role and duty to the people they serve and are therefore, accountable.

THE BEHAVIOUR OF OUR FEDERAL ATTORNEY GENERAL ROBERT McCLELLAND  IS DISTURBING

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