www.familylawwebguide.com.au: news

Ken Thompson cycles Europe in desperate search for his son

2010-08-29T01:59:55+10:00

From Ken Thompson:

"The following link will take you to an article published by AAP in Australia today. It is about Andrew's abduction & my efforts to find him.

"Please read the story and if you feel like adding to the comments, please do so.

"Please forward it to others as well & ask them to do the same."

Kind Regards, Ken Thompson

Email: Ken Thompson

The Web Site: FindAndrew

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

News.com.au
27 August 2010

Australian Ken Thompson cycles Europe in desperate search for his son
By Miles Godfrey

- Mum flees country with son
- Dad on three-month cycle to find them
- Mother is suffering mental illness

Australian Ken Thompson has spent every day for three months cycling through Europe, looking for his son.

But there is no telling where, when, how or even if his remarkable journey will end.

He says, quite frankly, he doesn't care if it takes the rest of his life, just as long as he finds his little boy.

He has cycled through over half a dozen countries in his desperate search to find his missing son.

Mr Thompson's story is one of love, betrayal, physical determination and weight loss so drastic his jeans once fell down in the middle of a Luxembourg street.

But it also raises a more fundamental question: How far would any of us go to help a loved one?

It is a question the relatives of Australia's 1600 long-term missing persons ask themselves every day.

Some agonise over ways to shed new light on cases which the police have long ago failed to solve - some set up Facebook pages, distribute leaflets, travel vast distances to investigate possible sightings.

Ken has featured extensivly on the news pages here. We first published this story in 2008 and have been reporting extensive coverage of his bicycling mission throughout Europe to find his son Andrew. Search the news gallery for "Ken Thompson".

If any one has any information, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, please immediately contact the Federal Police or your local Police command

Fathers 'stereotyped' by Child Support Agency

2010-08-26T17:06:21+10:00

The Sydney Morning Herald
26 August 2010

Fathers 'stereotyped' by Child Support Agency
By Paul Bibby

The government watchdog responsible for overseeing child support payments has been unfairly focusing on parents who do not pay enough while ignoring those who are getting too much, the Commonwealth Ombudsman says.

In a report that might not be well received by some single mothers, the acting Ombudsman, Ron Brent, found that the Child Support Agency had at times been unduly influenced by stereotypes about fathers not meeting their obligations.

He found that, as a result of this and other factors, the agency had "not been even-handed" in its role as an investigator.

Those required to make payments - usually fathers - were made the subject of rigorous investigations including their property holdings, tax minimisation arrangements and involvement in complex corporate structures.

The review found that on some occasions these investigations were intrusive and insensitive - assuming that fathers deliberately rather than accidentally mis-represented their ability to pay child support.

In a number of cases the financial records of a father's new partner were demanded without sufficient explanation as to why they were needed and what they would be used for.

At the same time there were "very few investigations" into those who received payments - usually mothers - to see whether they were getting too much.

"The CSA needs to change its case selection procedures, to be more even-handed in its approach to the two parties," Mr Brent said. "It is also important that investigations are carried out with sensitivity and without implying that all investigated parents are trying to avoid child support obligations.

"I do not think that fathers have been victimised, but I can understand why they might have that impression.

While greater balance was needed, Mr Brent said it was right that more attention be paid to fathers because they were more likely to have complex financial arrangements where errors were more common.

He also said that up until recently, government policy had in fact encouraged the agency to focus on fathers rather than mothers.

Elspeth McInnes, a policy adviser to the National Council for Single Mothers and Their Children, said she did not believe the Child Support Agency applied a gender filter to its investigations.

"I think the filter is the law," Dr McInnes said.

Ombudsman targets CSA Capacity to Pay clients

2010-08-25T22:10:44+10:00

Ombudsman targets CSA Capacity to Pay clients

The even-handedness of Child Support Agency (CSA) investigations into whether parents are paying and receiving the right amount, must target both the paying and receiving parents in a fair and evenhanded manner, according to the most recent report released by the Acting Commonwealth Ombudsman Mr Ron Brent.

The attached report looks into the CSAs power to go beyond a parents taxable income to assess child support obligations.

The CSA does this through its Capacity to pay (CTP) investigations which typically target parents who are self-employed or run a business through a corporate structure. A CSA capacity to pay investigation may look into such things as property holdings, tax minimisation arrangements, income which is not taxable or lump sum payments received.

The Acting Commonwealth Ombudsman Mr Ron Brent said

We examined 34 cases where child support had been reassessed and in almost every case the amount that had to be paid increased. The CSA has prioritised cases that increase child support liabilities, whereas their advertising suggested targeting both payer and payee parents that is, that they would investigate both those parents suspected of understating their incomes in order to pay less and those understating their incomes to receive more

In practice, the majority of investigations targeted only those suspected of paying too little.

He suggested that the CSA change its case selection procedures, to be more even-handed in its approach to the two parties.

Mr Brent said

It is also important that investigations are carried out with sensitivity and without implying that all investigated parents are trying to avoid child support obligations.

While the Ombudsman recognised the need for the CSA to look more broadly at a persons total financial situation, the majority of cases examined were in fact people with legitimate taxation arrangements.

On the other hand it is important that the CSA deals appropriately with cases of deliberate fraud or evasion when it finds them.

The report also calls attention to the intrusive nature of Capacity to pay investigations and that they have the potential to damage the relationship between parents, for example, when financial information about a new partner is requested unnecessarily.

Other recommendations were directed at ensuring:

adequate information is provided to parents about the investigation process itself, what information is required or what factors are taken into account
the accuracy of the CSAs decisions, and that they are based on complete information
training and support for the CSAs investigation officers is of a high standard
quality assurance, data collection, record keeping and procedural matters are appropriately rigorous

The CSA responded positively to the reports 14 recommendations when it considered them in draft form, and indeed have already moved to address many of the issues raised. Mr Brent praised CSAs responsiveness and commitment to fair and accountable administration.

The Ombudsmans report is entitled Child Support Agency, Department of Human Services; Investigation of a Parents Capacity to pay, August 2010 / 11, is available from here or from the Ombudsman web site
Media contact: Shaun Rohrlach, Director of Public Affairs 0408 861 803

Extracts from the report include:

However, the CSAs publicity of the Income Minimisers program suggested that it would target both payer and payee parents for investigation.

It also created the impression that parents under CTP investigation are those who deliberately attempted to avoid their child support responsibilities. This was not borne out by the cases that we examined in our sample.

The CSAs CTP investigations include many where parents had perfectly legitimate business arrangements for taxation purposes, and the question of their motivation was usually irrelevant.

While the Income Minimisers program has now ended, the CSA continues to conduct CTP investigations. In future, we believe the CSA must be balanced in the way that it presents the results of its CTP investigations and in its communication with the parents involved in cases under investigation (Recommendations 4 and 13).

and

Recommendation 7
That the CSA develop more detailed guidelines, for the purpose of CoA reason 8, about the appropriate treatment of: financial resources, capital amounts and sums not presently realisable corporate entities in which a parent has an interest.

Secretary of the Shared Parenting Council said

The number of complaints we receive from Self Employed participants in the scheme is significant and the acting Ombudsman Mr Ron Brent might have taken this opportunity to go much further in his investigation with more cases and findings. In particular things like non compliance and breeches of privacy by the CSA in some cases, garnishee orders on the wrong organisation which has materially affected a self employed persons relationship with suppliers in other cases.

The bottom line is that deductions, legitimate for taxation reasons are not legitimate for the CSA assessment. The Ombudsman has quite correctly highlighted in Recommendation 7 key elements that will go someway to assisting Self Employed payers. This is a recommendation we stronly support and the CSA need to go much further in the list of items that have to be considered.

A number of Self Employed payers we are aware of, get locked into years of protracted investigations with the CSA because they do not have clear rules when they start up. Running a small business and being in the child support scheme is no small undertaking and where a new relationship is entered into and that partner is assisting in operating a cash poor start up company or business, the recipe for incorrect handling of transactions is high.

One of the answers, in our view is to produce a detailed FACT sheet of what can and cannot be deducted, detailed guide lines as to how income is to be treated, how pay book and tax payments are to be made, how payments to a new partner are made, impacts on new partner incomes, impacts around deductibility and very clear and precises rules as to how depreciation is to be treated is one option.

The other option is view the ATO rules as paramount and use the ATO tax return as the declared income. Self Employed payers have a range of unique issues that have to be dealt with as well as trying to re set up their lives after separation. The existing rules are confusing and do not align to the tax return.

The Ombudsman's office say:

This is an abridged version of a detailed report of this offices investigation into the Child Support Agencys (CSA) investigations of a parents capacity to pay under Part 6A, Division 3 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. Our investigation commenced in May 2009. A draft of the full report with detailed analysis, conclusions and recommendations to improve the CSAs administration was provided to the Department of Human Services (DHS)1 on 31 May 2010.

Attachment

Ombudsman Office Media Release
» Download: Ombudsman Media release 082010.pdf (31 Kb, 41 downloads so far)

Attachment

Investigation of a Parents Capacity to pay, August 201011
» Download: CSA-HumanServices_Capacity-to-pay_final_abridged-1.pdf (648 Kb, 100 downloads so far)

Additional articles

Fathers 'stereotyped' by Child Support Agency
Paul Bibby WORKPLACE
August 26, 2010
SMH

THE government watchdog responsible for overseeing child support payments has been unfairly focusing on parents who do not pay enough while ignoring those who are getting too much, the Commonwealth Ombudsman says.

In a report that might not be well received by some single mothers, the acting Ombudsman, Ron Brent, found that the Child Support Agency had at times been unduly influenced by stereotypes about fathers not meeting their obligations.

He found that, as a result of this and other factors, the agency had ''not been even-handed'' in its role as an investigator.

Those required to make payments - usually fathers - were made the subject of rigorous investigations including their property holdings, tax minimisation arrangements and involvement in complex corporate structures.

The review found that on some occasions these investigations were intrusive and insensitive - assuming that fathers deliberately rather than accidentally mis-represented their ability to pay child support.

In a number of cases the financial records of a father's new partner were demanded without sufficient explanation as to why they were needed and what they would be used for.

At the same time there were ''very few investigations'' into those who received payments - usually mothers - to see whether they were getting too much.

''The CSA needs to change its case selection procedures, to be more even-handed in its approach to the two parties,'' Mr Brent said. ''It is also important that investigations are carried out with sensitivity and without implying that all investigated parents are trying to avoid child support obligations.

''I do not think that fathers have been victimised, but I can understand why they might have that impression.''

While greater balance was needed, Mr Brent said it was right that more attention be paid to fathers because they were more likely to have complex financial arrangements where errors were more common.

He also said that up until recently, government policy had in fact encouraged the agency to focus on fathers rather than mothers.

Elspeth McInnes, a policy adviser to the National Council for Single Mothers and Their Children, said she did not believe the Child Support Agency applied a gender filter to its investigations.

''I think the filter is the law,'' Dr McInnes said.

Green-Labor Senate to end Shared Parenting & revise Marriage

2010-08-19T15:23:32+10:00

Green-Labor Senate to end Shared Parenting & revise Marriage

www.MensVote.com
19 August 2010

MEDIA RELEASE

Green-Labor Senate to end Shared Parenting & revise Marriage

Australian separated and divorced fathers will soon have to prove that their children are developmentally mature enough to live with them under plans by Labor to amend the Family Law Act in 2011.

Inspired by the Howard Governments 2006 Family law reforms to respect the fundamental needs of children to enjoy the love and nurture of both their mother and their father, the countries of Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel had moved to embrace shared parenting laws however policy progress had recently been jeopardised by Australian anti-shared parenting advocates weighing into the overseas debate.

MensVote Australia has learned that the Israeli Governmental "Shnit Committee", reporting on shared parenting reforms, has been reliably informed that Family Law in Australia will change next year to consider psychological developmental milestones of children (read as code for 'The child being too young to share'). The Committee was also informed that fathers will need to prove they have the resources to share-parent before being allowed to enjoy an equal life with their children. Consequently the Shnit Committee report recommendations are on hold until after the anticipated Green-Labor ratification of family law changes. MensVote convenor Edward Dabrowski said today, "The Israelis have adopted a wait and see approach given the disclosure that Labor intends to cut back shared parenting. He said, "This means that psycho-social babble and text book psychologically will determine the fate of families rather than parent-child loving relationships. Mr Dabrowski said, "It is unconscionable that yet another set of hurdles are being put in the way of fathers wanting to parent normally after divorce and that segregation of children from their Dads and their paternal extended family would create another Stolen Generation of desperate and defeated fatherless kids".

Mr Dabrowski said today that he had called the office of Greens Senator Bob Brown to discuss marriage policy and ask why the Greens anti-discrimination argument for same-sex marriage wouldnt lead to marriages with multiple partners in the future. He was told by a staffer that "personally polygamy is ok with me (Staffer) but at present the Greens dont have a policy for this". Mr Dabrowski said he explained how changing the traditional meaning and model of marriage would harm children who were increasingly being commoditised as chattels. He further explained that whenever children are treated separate from their biological parents, they in fact became property not persons. Senator Bob Brown's Staffer rejected any assertion that mums and dads were superior parents to two fathers or two mothers and saw no harm in putting same-sex parents ahead of married couples waiting to adopt children.

MensVote Australia was established to advocate for the rights of children, parents and families and to preserve the traditional and legal definition that marriage is the union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.

The Green-Labor agenda moving forward will affect some 50,000 separated couples and their children annually, and usher in another lost generation of children grasping to know their fathers. A change to the definition of marriage would mean the loss of legal and institutional recognition of the special role that mothers and fathers have in the traditional family and the importance of both genders to the balanced development of children.

MensVote.com publishes a comparison Checklist www.MensVote.com/CheckList summarising the values of the Political Parties contesting Saturdays Federal Election. Mr Ed Dabrowski remarked that "the checklist clearly shows that the interests of men and fathers have largely been ignored by the major parties".

Mr Ed Dabrowski lamented that, "regrettably new Labor is not the old Labor working families once knew. Labor's re-writing of their policy platform to exclude the words "mother" and "father" at their 2009 National Conference, had in fact signalled a green light for Labor to enact same-sex marriage laws.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard's repeated statements that she supports the Marriage Act hides the fact that she supports same-sex marriage as well. At no time has the PM said that she does not support same-sex marriage. At no time has she repudiated same-sex marriage, choosing rather to muddy her meaning and mince her words with platitudes of support for the legal rights of gays and ending discrimination. Julia Gillards own State Labor branch has already voted in favour of same-sex marriage. Without the clear distinction in Labor's platform that marriage means the union of a man and woman, Labor's intention to change the Marriage Act to include same-sex couples is clear and at most only 3 years away from becoming reality.

On the ABC Radio National broadcast today, Senator Bob Brown was quizzed about same-sex marriage to which he gleefully replied that "a simple (conscience) vote would fix that!" The likely Senate influence of the Greens in the new Green-Labor Alliance would suggest that a vote on same-sex marriage is imminent. Mr Ed Dabrowski remarked that "Australian families, Christians and the established Churches should prepare for the shock redefinition of marriage that is coming despite the significance of traditional marriage to their established family culture and religious beliefs". He said, "Labor and the Greens have no popular mandate to redefine marriage for all Australians and the hundreds of thousands of children to be born into the future, but would prove unstoppable with their majority rule of the Senate".

Fathers too who seek to share the care of their children would be well advised to hasten their legal proceedings before their rights and the rights of their children to a shared life together are legislated away by the Green-Labor Alliance.

Ends.

Media Contact: Edward Dabrowski Tel. 0409 917 345

View the 2010 Federal Election Family Values Checklist at www.MensVote.com/CheckList

Assistance to Relationship Counselling welcomed

2010-08-14T13:38:56+10:00

Assistance to Relationship Counselling welcomed
Media Release
13 August 2010

Catholic Social Services Australia today welcomed a Coalition announcement that an Abbott Government would provide new support to marriage education, counselling and parenting programs through $200 vouchers to couples.

Mr Frank Quinlan, Executive Director of Catholic Social Services Australia said

Early intervention is one way of ensuring happier relationships.

It is best to invest in relationships early, to give couples the skills and strategies that they might need to maintain lasting bonds or to overcome the inevitable difficulties that arise in any human relationships.

Catholic agencies provide a wide range of programs nationally to assist couples in strengthening their relationships, overcoming problems and in becoming more effective parents. In addition to the human cost, relationship breakdown also has an economic cost.

Investment in relationships has a benefit to the whole community.

Labor Government cuts to Family Services proposed in the last budget would make it harder for agencies to provide essential support to families, so this announcement by the Coalition is a step in the right direction.

Catholic Social Services Australia provides services to over a million Australians each year through its 67 member agencies in remote, regional and metropolitan Australia.

CONTACT: Jackie Brady 0417 220 779

Labor to increase child support

2010-08-14T01:09:06+10:00

Note that The Australian newspaper's spin chooses to target and denigrate separated fathers by using the word "hit" and calling them "deadbeat dads".

What about the many mothers who:

1) Won't pay their child support (Issue: Bias and inequality favouring women); and

2) Misuse 'child support' money by not spending it on the children, but instead fraudulently spend the money on themselves (Issue: Lack of accountability for women).

ALP to increase child support

The Australian
12 August 2010

Labor to hit deadbeat dads for child support
By Patricia Karvelas, Political Correspondent

Julia Gillard will target deadbeat dads who do not lodge tax returns and avoid paying child support.

The Prime Minister said yesterday she would strengthen the compliance regime on the use of default income in child support assessments with a new, more accurate default income arrangement.

Ms Gillard said that almost one in four child support cases had incorrect assessments because of tax returns being filed late or not being lodged at all.

Some parents had failed to lodge returns for more than seven years.

This non-compliance with tax obligations works against the policy objective of the Child Support Scheme that parents contribute towards the cost of raising their children according to their capacity to pay, the Labor Party says.

Under legislative changes made in 2006, and implemented during 2008, a new default income of two-thirds of male total average weekly earnings has applied in child support cases where a person does not lodge their tax return for more than two years.

This default income is about $39,000 per annum.

Since July 1, 2008, there has been a 325 per cent increase in the use of this default income where it is lower than the person's previous taxable income.

A change will be made to strengthen compliance so that when a person does not lodge a tax return, the default income will no longer apply where that income is lower than their last known taxable income.

Instead, the old taxable income will be indexed by wages growth.

This stronger compliance will save $58.8 million over four years through reduced government expenditure on family assistance.

Same Sex Couples Bill for adoptees (NSW)

2010-08-10T20:49:38+10:00

Same Sex Couples Bill for adoptees (NSW)

On 24 June, Sydney Independent MP Clover Moore introduced a bill to change the definition of couple in the NSW Adoption Act to include same-sex couples. The bill would allow homosexual and lesbian couples to adopt NSW babies and children, thereby denying them either a mother or a father.

Debate will resume after the winter recess ends on 31 August, so the vote could occur in early September.

A conscience vote is expected, but Premier Keneally has indicated that she will support the legislation.

Rev Steve Estherby, from FamilyVoice Australia said

We need to protect the right of every child to be raised by a mother and a father to the fullest extent that this is possible.

The attached FamilyVoice VoxAlert gives suggestions on how to draft a short letter to Premier Keneally (premier@www.nsw.gov.au), Community Services Minister Linda Burney (office@burney.minister.nsw.gov.au) and NSW state MPs.

You can use the same wording in each letter. With emails, you can simply copy and paste your wording, with your name and address, into the body of the email to each MP (names and addresses are given on the second page of the VoxAlert). If you prefer, you can phone the MPs office and leave a message with your details.

Time is short. Please send this email to your friends and encourage them to take action for NSW childrens sake.

Contact
Steve
Rev Steve Estherby

NSW State Officer
FamilyVoice Australia
GPO Box 9894, Sydney, NSW 2001
Phone: 02 4284 3544 or 0417270301

National Office 1300 365 965 Fax: 08 8223 5850
Email: FamilyVoice Australia Website
A Christian voice for family, faith and freedom

Attachment

Press Release - FamilyVoice
» Download: VoxAlertNSWSameSexAdoption1008.pdf (195 Kb, 60 downloads so far)