Easton & Gomez (No 2)

[2023] FedCFamC1F 1074

FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

(DIVISION 1)

Easton & Gomez (No 2) [2023] FedCFamC1F 1074

File number(s):	BRC 8436 of 2022
Judgment of:	BAUMANN J
Date of judgment:	13 December 2023
Catchwords:	FAMILY LAW – PARENTING – Where the parents agree on new final parenting orders with limited remaining issues in dispute – Final orders made in the best interests of the children
Legislation:	Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) ss 60B, 60CC, 61DA
Division:	Division 1 First Instance
Number of paragraphs:	7
Date of last submission/s:	30 October 2023
Date of hearing:	9 September 2023
Place:	Brisbane
Solicitor for the Applicant:	Keith Mole & Associates
Solicitor for the Respondent:	Litigant in person

ORDERS

BRC 8436 of 2022
FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 1)
BETWEEN:	MS EASTON Applicant
AND:	MR GOMEZ Respondent

ORDER MADE BY:	BAUMANN J
DATE OF ORDER:	13 DECEMBER 2023

THE COURT ORDERS ON A FINAL BASIS:

1.That Orders 6 to 9 inclusive of the Orders of the Family Court of Australia dated 27 January 2017 be discharged.

2.That the children, C born 2010 (“C”) and B born 2008 (“B”) (collectively “the children”) shall spend time with the mother at all such times as may be agreed between the parents, but failing agreement as follows:

(a)C shall spend time with the mother:

(i)for a period until the commencement of Order 2(a)(ii), each alternate weekend for four (4) hours on a Saturday at a shopping centre agreed by the parents, but failing agreement at the W Shopping Centre, with changeover at the main food court;

(ii)commencing the first scheduled weekend in 2024, for a further period of two (2) months each alternate weekend from 9.00am until 4.00pm on a Saturday, with changeover at McDonald’s Restaurant, Y Street, Suburb Z unless otherwise agreed in writing; and

(iii)thereafter and subject to the mother’s compliance with Order 6 hereof, each alternate weekend from 9.00am Saturday until 4.00pm Sunday (or Monday if that is a public holiday or pupil free day for the school C is attending), with changeover at McDonald’s Restaurant, Y Street, Suburb Z unless otherwise agreed in writing.

(iv)subject to C’s wishes, from the commencement of the Winter school holidays in 2024:

A.each Winter, Spring and Easter school holidays for a block of up to one (1) week, in the first week of the holidays in 2024 and each alternate year and the last week of the holidays in 2025 and each alternate year; and

B.for the Christmas school holidays for up to one (1) week, with the mother providing the father with at least three (3) months’ notice of the week she proposes to spend time with C, but with the period nominated not to include the period of 24 to 26 December inclusive.

(b)B shall spend time with the mother in accordance with his wishes from time to time, and the father shall not discourage B from spending time with the mother, and in particular joining with C in spending time with the mother in accordance with Order 2(a) above; and

(c)That for the purpose of overnight or block time, the mother shall provide the father with details of her address and an emergency contact number, together with notice of her intention to take the children interstate and details of such trip (save and except for a trip to Region AC or Region AD in New South Wales).

3.That the mother be permitted to provide the children with a telephone number on which the mother and children can communicate should they so wish (whether by way of voice call, message or video call), and the father shall not prevent or discourage the children from communicating with the mother.

4.That the children shall be entitled to use the mobile phone (provided by the mother under Order 3 hereof) or a mobile phone provided by the father, when in the care of the mother under these Orders and are free to telephone the father at any time they are in the mother’s care.

5.That the mother shall not remove the children from Australia without the father’s consent or by order of a Court.

6.That before overnight time commences under Order 2(a)(ii) hereof, the mother shall provide to the father in writing, details of her current residential address.  The mother shall keep the father informed of any change in her residential address, within seven (7) days of such change.

7.That the mother shall provide the father with details of any male person she:

(i)Regards as one she is in a committed relationship with; and

(ii)Wishes to introduce to the children as such,

with details being their full name; age and residential address.

Note:   The form of the order is subject to the entry in the Court’s records.

Note: This copy of the Court’s Reasons for judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors (r 10.14(b) Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to r 10.13 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth).

Section 121 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) makes it an offence, except in very limited circumstances, to publish proceedings that identify persons, associated persons, or witnesses involved in family law proceedings.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Easton & Gomez has been approved pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

BAUMANN J:

1. On 28 September 2023, I delivered Reasons relating to some disputed parenting issues between the father, Mr Gomez and the mother, Ms Easton.

2. As identified at [24] and [25] of those Reasons, I invited the parties to provide further written submissions, if they wished to do so.

3. Further written submissions were received and have been considered, as follows:

   (a)On 19 October 2023 from the mother; and

   (b)On 30 October 2023 from the father.

4. On 5 December 2023, the mother’s solicitors advised the Court (and the father) by email that the mother did not wish to make any further submissions in reply.  Furthermore, the Court was informed that by the mother that:

   Our client instructs that the parties have continued to carry out the Interim Orders dated 9 September 2023 (amended 18 September 2023) with visits still occurring at the [W Shopping Centre], as an interim arrangement pending finalisation of Orders providing for time to move beyond the Shopping Centre.

5. Arising from these written submissions, the orders which appear at the commencement of these Reasons are, at this time, in the best interests of the children, B (soon to turn 16 years) and C (13 years), and as necessary deal briefly with the issues raised in the submissions, as follows (and by reference to the proposed order set out at Appendix One to the Reasons dated 28 September 2023), namely:

   (a)the mother asks that the two-month period in paragraph 2(a)(i) commence from 8 September 2023 not from the date of the order.  In view of the apparent compliance with the earlier interim Orders, I will order that the time under order 2(a)(ii) commence on the first scheduled weekend in 2024.

   (b)the father’s submissions assert that at C’s developmental stage, he regards her as “impressionable” such that he takes “every precaution to uphold her psychological and physical welfare”.  He expressed that he felt “unsettled” in permitting C to spend overnight with her mother when, despite repeated requests, the mother has not provided him with her residential address.  I regard it as appropriate for the father to know where the child will be overnight, and accordingly before overnight time begins, the mother will be ordered to provide details to the father and keep him informed of any changes; and

   (c)the father further expresses some concerns about potential new relationships the mother may be forming.  He states that the mother had wished to introduce the children to a male friend earlier this year, but that relationship had ended.  The father now asserts that the mother informed him by text message on 13 October 2023 that she is engaged to a United States of America military man she met on the internet.  She has not met the man, nor does she know where he resides and that she had received an engagement ring “in the mail”.  In these circumstances, whilst I agree with the father that the mother is free to pursue new adult relationships, he is entitled (in view of the history of the matter) to be “protective” of C. A s a result, I make an order dealing with that issue.

6. The only other issue raised by the mother was to place on the record that she rejects any suggestion that her extended family “were uninterested in the children”.  An objective reading of paragraph 24(g) of the earlier Reasons, demonstrates no such finding by the Court.

7. The pronouncement of these final orders brings the current proceedings to an end.

I certify that the preceding seven (7) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justice Baumann.

Associate:

Dated:       13 December 2023