DODD & MOSER

The case of *Dodd & Moser* concerned parenting orders for two children, aged almost 17 and 15, who lived with their father. The dispute arose from the mother's desire for increased time with the younger child, while the older child expressed a refusal to spend any time with the mother, an arrangement the court deemed appropriate. The father sought sole parental responsibility, and the mother sought equal shared parental responsibility.

The central legal issues before Bruce Smith J were whether to grant sole parental responsibility to the father or equal shared parental responsibility to both parents, and what arrangements for the children's time with each parent were in their best interests, particularly in light of the older child's stated wishes and the mother's admitted history of alcohol abuse, which was further indicated by CTD testing.

His Honour determined that sole parental responsibility should be allocated to the father. This decision was informed by the older child's firm refusal to spend time with the mother, the younger child's desire to maintain existing time arrangements with the mother, and the evidence of current alcohol abuse issues concerning the mother, despite her denials. Consequently, the court imposed a restraint on the mother consuming alcohol when the younger child was in her care, and the existing time arrangements for the younger child with the mother were continued.