Farlow & Madani

[2021] FCCA 781

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Farlow & Madani [2021] FCCA 781

File number:	MLC 10787 of 2020
Judgment of:	JUDGE O'SHANNESSY
Date of judgment:	17 February 2021
Catchwords:	FAMILY LAW – interim parenting – where child lives with mother – where father’s time is reserved – where paternal grandparents seeking time – allegations of family violence.
Legislation:	Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), ss 60CA, 60CC
Number of paragraphs:	40
Date of hearing:	17 February 2021
Place:	Melbourne
Counsel for the Applicant:	Mr P Testart
Solicitor for the Applicant:	Collards Solicitors
Counsel for the First Respondent:	Mr A Healer
Solicitor for the First Respondent:	Midson & Associates
Counsel for the Second and Third Respondents:	Mr S Tatarka
Solicitor for the Second and Third Respondents:	DSA Law

ORDERS

MLC 10787 of 2020

BETWEEN:

MR FARLOW

Applicant

AND:

MS MADANI

First Respondent

MR B FARLOW

Second Respondent

MS FARLOW

Third Respondent

ORDER MADE BY:	JUDGE O'SHANNESSY
DATE OF ORDER:	17 FEBRUARY 2021

THE COURT ORDERS BY CONSENT THAT:

1.Until further order the child of the relationship, X born in 2010 ('the child') shall live with the mother.

2.Until further Order face to face time and communication between the Applicant Father and the child be reserved.

3.Pursuant to section 68L(2) of the Family Law Act 1975 the child X born in 2010 be independently represented AND IT IS REQUESTED that Victoria Legal Aid arrange such separate representation and such arrangement be as soon as possible AND THAT:

(a)Forthwith upon appointment by Victoria Legal Aid, the Independent Children's

(b)Upon notification of such appointment, the parties (by their solicitors if represented) shall provide to the Independent Children's Lawyer copies of all relevant documents.

4.The Applicant Father be at liberty to send cards, letters and gifts to the child, addressed to the child, care of the Respondent Mother.

5.The Second and Third Respondents Paternal Grandparents be at liberty to send cards, letters and gifts to the child, addressed to the child, care of the Respondent Mother.

6.The Applicant Father, the Respondent Mother and the child shall do all acts and things to engage in family therapy with Intensive Family Therapy with C Family Centre, Suburb D ('the family therapy'):

(a)Subject to any opinion expressed in writing to the parties by the child's treating psychologist, Ms E; and

BY THE COURT:

(b)The Second and Third Respondents Paternal Grandparents so all acts and things to engage in the family therapy to the extent required or advised by the therapist.

BY CONSENT:

7.The Applicant Father shall as soon as practicable provide a supervised blood sample and undergo a Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin blood test, and as soon as is practicable forward a copy of the results thereof to the solicitors for the other parties and the Independent Children's Lawyer .

8.The Applicant Father shall continue to engage with his psychologist and shall authorise the Independent Children's Lawyer to monitor his progress.

9.The Respondent Mother shall do all acts and things reasonably necessary to ensure that the child continues to engage with his psychologist, Ms E.

10.The Respondent Mother shall engage with F Family Services, Family Violence Service (F Family Services) and authorise the Independent Children's Lawyer to liaise with F Family Services as to the circumstances of that therapy.

11.The Respondent Father shall as soon as practicable enrol in, attend and participate a Men's Behaviour Change Program (contact Mensline) and Caring Dads Program (contact Kid's First Australia) and authorise the Independent Children's Lawyer to liaise with these organisations as to the circumstances of that therapy.

12.The parties and/or the Independent Children's Lawyer shall be at liberty to make the child inclusive Memorandum dated 15 February, 2021 available to any person or organisation with whom the parties or either of them engage pursuant to these Orders.

BY THE COURT:

13.The Orders made this day, the settled reasons from this day, the section 11F Report held on the 11 February 2021, and the exhibits marked F4 relating to family violence (the charge sheet and the outcome of Court), be made available to Ms E, the family therapist, F Family Services and the Applicant Father's psychologist and that the Applicant Father be at liberty to provide those documents to anyone else he attends therapy with.

14.Pursuant to section 62G(2) of the Family Law Act 1975, the parties and the child X born in 2010 attend upon a Family Consultant nominated by the Regional Coordinator of Child Dispute Services of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (Melbourne Registry) for the purposes of the preparation of a Family Report to be given to the Court by 23 November 2021 AND THAT:

(a)The Family Report address the matters relevant to ss.60CC, 61DA and 65DAA of the Family Law Act 1975 and any other matters that the Family Consultant considers important to the welfare or best interests of the child.

(b)The parties comply with all reasonable directions of the Family Consultant.

(c)The Family Consultant have leave to inspect the subpoenaed material produced to the Court.

15.Leave is granted to each of the parties and the Independent Children's Lawyer to provide a copy of the Family Report to a convener of any legal dispute resolution conference.

16.The matter be adjourned to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia at Melbourne on 27 May 2021 at 9:30am for Interim Defended Hearing.

17.The proceedings be adjourned to 14 February 2022 at 10:00am for Final Hearing (with an estimated hearing time of 3 days) at the Federal Circuit Court of Australia at Melbourne.

18.The matter be listed for a compliance mention by telephone on 31 January 2022 at 9:30am.

19.The party responsible for the payment of any fee including a setting down or hearing fee pay or cause to be paid such of the fees as shall be payable by that party in accordance with, and within the time specified in, the Family Law (Fees) Regulation 2012.

20.The Applicant Father file and serve:

(a)any Amended Application and any trial affidavit; and,

(b)an updated Financial Statement upon which he seeks to rely by no later than 56 days prior to the Final Hearing.

21.The Respondent Mother file and serve:

(a)any Amended Response and any trial affidavit; and,

(b)an updated Financial Statement upon which she seeks to rely by no later than 42 days prior to the Final Hearing.

22.The Second and Third Respondents Paternal Grandparents file and serve:

(a)any Amended Response and any trial affidavit; and,

(b)an updated Financial Statement upon which they seek to rely by no later than 42 days prior to the Final Hearing.

23.The Independent Children's Lawyer file and serve any material on which they seek to rely by no later than 28 days prior to the Final Hearing.

24.Each of the parties be at liberty to file a short affidavit in reply by no later than 21 days prior to Final Hearing.

25.The parties be at liberty to rely upon any affidavit material previously filed in these proceedings, provided that written notice is given to the other party at the same time as filing any updating affidavit provided above.

26.Each party file and serve a case outline by no later than 7 days prior to trial and provide a copy in Word format to: associate.judgeo'[email protected].

AND THE COURT NOTES THAT:

A.It is not disputed that until separation the Second and Third Respondent Paternal Grandparents were significantly involved in the child’s life.

B.Reserve liberty for the parties to apply.

C.The issue of a Conciliation Conference, single expert valuation evidence and necessary disclosure will need to be attended to on 27 May 2021.

D.Pursuant to ss.65DA(2) and 62B of the Family Law Act 1975 the particulars of the obligations these orders create and the particulars of the consequences that may follow if a person contravenes these orders are set out in Annexure A and these particulars are included in these orders.

E.If in any proceedings there are allegations of family violence and the provisions of section 102NA of the Family Law Act 1975 apply (see attached Family Violence Information Sheet), any unrepresented party will not be permitted to personally cross-examine the other party/parties.

F.Affected unrepresented parties may apply to the Commonwealth Family Violence and Cross-Examination of Parties Scheme (“the Scheme”) for representation but any such application must be made at least 12 weeks prior to the final hearing.

G.Further information about the legislation and the Scheme can be found at Part 4 of the attached Family Violence Information Sheet.

H.If s102NA applies and a party becomes unrepresented after trial directions have been made, that party is required to promptly advise the Court.

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 under the pseudonym Farlow & Madani is approved pursuant to s.121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

EX TEMPORE
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

JUDGE O’SHANNESSY

1. In this matter I delivered ex tempore reasons and orders on 17 February 2021.  These are the settled/revised reasons and I provide them for the benefit of the parties and any therapist involved with the family.

2. The parties relied upon all of the material filed, the section 11F memorandum and exhibits tendered during the hearing including a psychological report of the Father’s therapy and F4, the Father’s community corrections Order and charge sheet and summons relating to his assaults (he pleaded guilty) upon the Mother.  I took all that material into account.  On an interim hearing on the papers I cannot determine factual disputes but have to take account of objective evidence and uncontroversial matters.  Because a fact is disputed does not mean the alleged events are disregarded nor is the fact of the allegation disregarded.  It is clear that at least on some occasions the Father assaulted the Mother in the presence of their child.  The behaviour of the Paternal Grandparents is strongly disputed. 

3. The dispute as to what orders should be made before me narrowed substantially.  In accordance with the section 11F recommendations the parents (but not the Paternal Grandparents) agreed that they would participate in non reportable family therapy and that otherwise the Father’s communication with the child would be by cards and letters addressed to the child but care of the Mother. 

4. The Paternal Grandparents are parties to the proceedings and sought unsupervised face to face time with the child.  Their counsel articulated a case that their application was entirely separate from their son’s and that they would not be involved in the family therapy agreed to by the parents.  Their case was put in strong submissions by their counsel to the effect that they were entirely innocent of family violence, abhorred what their son had done and had a long and generous involvement in the child’s life that should not be interrupted by the tragedy of the family violence suffered at the hands of the Father and that no harm could realistically be said to befall the child in their care.  It became clear that the Paternal Grandparents only became aware of the extent of the family violence wreaked upon the Mother when the Father’s solicitor provided exhibit F4, the charge sheets and community based order.

5. It also became clear that the Mother only learned of significant events during the hearing before me: that the Father had been charged and then pleaded guilty on 3 February 2021 to four separate charges and been sentenced to a Community Based Order with conditions that he undergo treatment as directed over 24 months.

6. The section 11F memorandum prepared by an expert family consultant and dated 15 February 2021 follows interviews by telephone on 11 February 2021.  Relevant parts of that careful and insightful memorandum include:

   3.According to Ms Madani, the relationship between the parents was characterised by frequent physical, verbal, and sexual abuse perpetrated by Mr Farlow towards Ms Madani. She also alleged Mr Farlow engaged in controlling behaviours such as financial control and stalking. Ms Madani stated that X was frequently exposed to aspects of the family violence. Ms Madani alleged that X videorecorded a physical assault by Mr Farlow against her. She stated that X’s frequent exposure to family violence has had a profound impact on him and he now exhibits some trauma based behaviours (explored further below). Ms Madani is not currently working with a family violence service however is open to support.

   4.Ms Madani alleged family violence perpetrated by the paternal grandparents towards her, early in the relationship with Mr Farlow. Ms Madani alleges that she also experienced controlling behaviours by the paternal grandparents towards her throughout the relationship.

   5.According to both parents there is a current IVO issued in June 2020 listing Mr Farlow as the Respondent and Ms Madani and X as the Affected Family Members. Ms Madani alleged that there had been frequent breaches of the IVO until she changed her telephone number.

   6.Mr Farlow acknowledged family violence during the relationship and noted that he is currently completing a 22 month Community Corrections Order which involves 250 hours of community service, an anger management course and completion of the Men’s Behaviour Change Program (MBCP). According to Mr Farlow, the family violence was a consequence of excessive alcohol consumption. Mr Farlow agreed that X was exposed to family violence during the relationship and agrees that this may have had a negative impact on his relationship with X.

   7.Mr Farlow Snr and Mrs Farlow denied all allegations of family violence and denied being aware of the family violence perpetrated by Mr Farlow. Although they condemned Mr Farlow’s behaviour, they minimised the impact of the alleged family violence on X and blamed Ms Madani for ‘participating’ in the alleged family violence.

   …

   19.X (10) was interviewed by phone due to Ms Madani not having access to video conferencing technology. X was articulate and engaged well with the writer. He provided a vivid description of the alleged family violence and stated that at times he would attempt to intervene to protect his mother. He stated that he was never physically hurt doing this, however his father would sometimes push him out of the way.

   20.X reported feeling happy that the relationship between his parents ended, however was worried that Mr Farlow might come to the house or the school and attempt to take him. X stated he does not currently want to spend time with his father as he is fearful of him and wants to “feel more confident in myself before I see him”. X is currently seeing a psychologist, Ms E, regularly and she is helping him build his confidence.

   21.X enjoys sports and he attends training 2-3 times per week. Ms Madani stated this has a positive impact on his emotional and physical wellbeing.

   22.X reported a positive relationship with the paternal grandparents prior to the relationship ending however stated that they have said “bad things” to him in the past about his mother. He is worried if he spends time with Mr Farlow Snr and Mrs Farlow that they will attempt to “stop me from being on my mum’s side”.

   23.X is in Grade 5 and according to both parents he has some “nervous habits” such as biting his nails and pulling his hair. Ms Madani also stated that X had been experiencing nightmares 3-4 nights per week however noted that this has improved over the past 3 months. Ms Madani also advised that X has issues concentrating at school and has faced challenges making friends as other children experience him as overly emotional. Ms Madani believes that due to what he has been exposed to he is more mature in some ways than other children his age.

   24.X appears to have been significantly emotionally impacted by the alleged family violence. He exhibits a range of possible trauma symptoms which seem to be resolving with therapeutic support from his psychologist and a reprieve from his exposure to alleged family violence.

   25.X has established a positive relationship with his psychologist and this appears to be having a positive impact on his emotional well-being.

   26.X’s relationship with his father has been significantly impacted by his experience of alleged family violence and consequently there has been some natural alignment with his mother. This alignment may also be impacting his views about his paternal grandparents as his father currently resides with them.

   27.Given X’s age and stage of development, he may find it challenging to separate his thoughts and feelings about his father from those he has about his paternal grandparents. It may be particularly confusing for him to reconcile why they may be defending his father and allowing him to reside with them given that they are now aware of Mr Farlow’s excessive alcohol consumption and the allegations of family violence.

   28.X will benefit if, prior to spending time with Mr Farlow, he is allowed time to meaningfully engage in therapeutic intervention aimed at assisting him to address his possible trauma symptoms and to support him to “build his confidence” to spend time with Mr Farlow.

   …

7. This case threw into sharp focus ss 60CC(1), (2) and (2A) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (‘the Act’):

   (1)Subject to subsection (5), in determining what is in the child's best interests, the court must consider the matters set out in subsections (2) and (3).

   (2)      The primary considerations are:

   (a)the benefit to the child of having a meaningful relationship with both of the child's parents; and

   (b)the need to protect the child from physical or psychological harm from being subjected to, or exposed to, abuse, neglect or family violence.

   (2A)In applying the considerations set out in subsection (2), the court is to give greater weight to the consideration set out in paragraph (2)(b).

8. What follows in these reasons is, save for grammatical tidying up, details as to dates, and omission of unintended repetition, substantially the same as the ex tempore reasons delivered on 17 February 2021.

9. The Father is 45 years old. He is currently unemployed.  He has been employed in the past as a factory worker.  He lost his employment as a result of alcohol abuse.  He has suffered significant deprivation to his own life and the life of his family because of his difficulty with alcohol.

10. The Mother is 47 years old and is involved in home duties but also has, at least until recent times, been working part-time in retail. 

11. The child is 10 years old. He is in good health, cheerful, friendly and according to his parents well-adjusted with his peers.  Although it appears there is some circumspection about some difficulties with that.

12. The parents separated on 9 June 2020 and soon after 9 June 2020 the Father was charged with a number of criminal offences that related to at least three different timeframes and four groups of offences.  The Community Correction Order describes those as:

    CHARGE 1- 2020 - RECKLESSLY CAUSE INJURY

    CHARGE 4- 2020- UNLAWFUL ASSAULT

    CHARGE 5- 2020- RECKLESSLY CAUSE INJURY

    CHARGE 6- 2020- SEXUAL ASSAULT

1. The parents for a time lived with the Paternal Grandparents.  The Paternal Grandparents are aged 64 and 66.  The paternal grandfather managed a business and the paternal grandmother was employed in a factory. Both are now retired.  They saw fit to sell part of their modest property to have the funds available to provide a home for their son (the Father) and his family in addition to mortgaging their own home to borrow substantial funds to fund that purchase which then they transferred to their son's (the Father’s) name at the same time as a charge was executed whereby the funds to purchase the property were by way of loan, but, significantly, that loan on its face is not to be called in until there is a sale or disposition of the property.

2. The Paternal Grandparents have been generous so far to their son (the Father).  The issue of whether the status of that loan is not agreed by all parties in the circumstance where the Mother has deposed that she did not know about the fact of a loan or a caveat or a charge until these proceedings, but it is not suggested that the money to provide the accommodation for the son and his family came from anything other than the resources of the Paternal Grandparents.  Additionally, it is not suggested that the Paternal Grandparents get any return from that provision other than the joy and security of knowing that their son (the Father), grandson (the child) and their grandson's Mother (the Mother) had accommodation to live in.

3. I am taking into account Part VII of the Act and, in particular, the issues that I am required by section 60CC(2) and firstly, 60CA, the child's best interests being the paramount considerations in making these orders.

4. I do not propose to order face to face time commencing with the Paternal Grandparents at this point in time as they seek.  It is not because I have a finding that there is anything that is going to befall the child in the care of his Paternal Grandparents.  To the contrary, I am inclined to the view, but I do not make a finding at the moment, that the child will benefit from the continuation of the relationship with his Paternal Grandparents. 

5. The primary reason I do not find it is in the child's interests to order a resumption of face to face time at the moment is because of how many other things are going to be going on in the child's life.  That is, I am going to impose family therapy upon the parents and the child and, to the extent that the therapist sees it as valid, upon the Paternal Grandparents as well.

6. I am trying to take into account a number of events that are very new and recent.  Those include the child has only started therapy with his psychologist in December.  It is weekly school term therapy.  It is very early on in that therapy.

7. The section 11F counsellor has drawn the inference that that is therapy generally for the child including and primarily relating to the trauma that he suffered from exposure to family violence.  That is not an inference that I am prepared to draw.  This is school based counselling and there is also a reference of the child having some difficulties mixing with his peers.  

   
   

   We simply do not have any information except what it appears to me what has come from the child to the section 11F counsellor as to that therapy.  Whatever it is it is very early days.

8. The other matter that is very early in the piece is that the Mother and, hence, in one sense the child, has only learnt in this hearing today that, in fact, the Father was charged with criminal offences arising from the family violence.   The Father has been dealt with and sentenced in Court and the Father pleaded guilty.  Each one of those are very significant events and new information and, as well, he is going to be, hopefully, prepared by his Mother to commence family therapy.

9. The family therapy is not going to commence for at least five weeks.  In the scheme of things, that is relatively soon.  The Father has pleaded guilty to criminal assaults on four different occasions or ranging over four episodes of 2020.  So the child has been through that, as has his Mother.

10. The trauma for a child being exposed to family violence between his parents is significant.  This exposure is really significant and I just do not know enough about all of that.

11. My inclination is that it is much to the child's disadvantage not having a continuing relationship with his parents.  However, I do not find that it is in the child's interests at this point in time to impose that and for those reasons I am going to bring the matter back before me on a date three months or so hence when we will have an Independent Children's Lawyer.  I note we will also have the section 67Z response from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.  I do not expect that will add much information given the very frank account of the circumstances that has come from the Father but, nonetheless, that is additional information I will then have. More significantly the family therapy will be well underway.  That therapy is not reportable.  I will not have a report about it.  I will only have the parties' respective opinions, which, of course, will not be unbiased about the progress and benefit of that therapy. 

12. Sadly, the child has not had contact with his Paternal Grandparents since May last year and it will be more than 12 months.  From the child's point of view the circumstances that have happened, including the interruption of his relationship with his Paternal Grandparents, is the equivalent of a car wreck in his life.  It may well be that upon meeting his Paternal Grandparents for the first time he will burst into their arms and be delighted to see them or at least after some warming up period.  However, I cannot be certain of that and the most significant matter that is going to occur in the child's life at the moment is the intensive family therapy and the demands that that makes upon all concerned. 

13. I am alert to Mr Tatarka's very live points that his clients, the Paternal Grandparents, will not be central to that therapy.  I am not so sure about that yet.  That would assume that the Father comes to play a significant role in the child’s life and his grandparents play a less significant role.  I do not know about that yet.  It may be that the child’s Paternal Grandparents will have a more significant role in his life than the Father does.  I do not know that yet.  I am not of the view that they are peripheral to the family therapy. I say that not because the fact that out of their generosity they provide a home for their son (the Father) at the time but because of their relationship with their son and their relationship with the child.  The child well knows the relationship between his parents and his Paternal Grandparents and I want to ensure that the family therapy has every chance of success. 

14. I am unable at this point to accept the philosophical position put by Mr Tatarka that the Paternal Grandparents are entirely separate to the dispute between the parents.  Everybody is connected in this car wreck of circumstances and the adults all have different degrees of responsibility for the situation.  I am less interested in looking at degrees of responsibility and looking forward to getting the child's life back on a more stable track.

15. At this stage I have raised regular telephone time with the paternal grandparents and I have considered this.  I am not proposing to order that either at this time.  I am going to limit it to the cards, letters and gifts proposal mainly for the reasons that I have already set out.  That is, to give the family therapy every chance to work.   That therapy is the major immediate issue that the Mother and the child and the Father as well as the Paternal Grandparents have to deal with.

16. I do not yet know whether the pause in time with the paternal grandparents from May to now will have assisted the child or whether that will have made things worse for him.  I am not dismissing that the traumas that he had suffered are being exacerbated by being unable to continue that relationship with his grandparents, if that relationship was as warm as the grandparents assert.  That might be the case but at this point I want to give that family therapy every chance of working. 

17. The Paternal Grandparents are only learning more of the details about today in terms of what their son (the Father) has pleaded guilty to which will be profoundly disappointing to them.  I can understand their chagrin at saying “you are now visiting the sins of the son on the parents and it is our relationship with our grandson that has been put at risk” and I can understand why they would feel that way but, nonetheless, I am not satisfied that it is in the child’s best interests to commence seeing his grandparents at this time.

18. I might add at that point I had some sympathy for the circumstance that the Paternal Grandparents find themselves in.  However, this case is about what the child's best interests are.  Not in any way their rights or entitlements as grandparents, or very good grandparents, and, indeed, the same applies in regard to the Father and the Mother, but the primary considerations that I am to take into account is the benefit of the child having a meaningful relationship with both of the child's parents and in this case the child's parents and other adult figures who have played a significant role in the child's life.  

19. The need to protect the child from physical or psychological harm or from being exposed to abuse, neglect or family violence. In balancing those two considerations I am to place greater weight on the second one which is the need to protect the child from physical or psychological harm. I then take into account all of the matters under section 60CC of the Act and, of course, the provision that enables me to give shortened reasons.

20. The other aspects that are agreed in this matter are the circumstances that the child is at a local primary school.  He is in grade 5 this year.  It is not disputed that the child is the pride and joy of the parents and the only grandson of the Paternal Grandparents.  It is not disputed that the Mother has been the primary carer of the child since his birth and that the Paternal Grandparents have assisted in the care of the child since his birth. 

21. It is not disputed that when the Mother was in labour with the child the Paternal Grandmother was involved in the care and support of the Mother at that time.  Sadly, relationships between the two women appear to have deteriorated largely through a wall of silence rather than anything else on the evidence I have before me.

22. There is then a dispute, a significant dispute, as to the Father's involvement in the day-to-day life of the child.  What is not disputed is that the Father has been an inpatient at a rehabilitation facility over the end of August 2019 to the first week of September 2019 and that he has participated as an outpatient in another rehabilitation following that a week later from September for about six weeks through to the middle of October 2019.  What is common ground is that the Father returned to alcohol abuse when he returned to the home.  There is an issue between the parties in the circumstance where the Mother by her Notice of Child Abuse Family Violence or Risk filed 28 January 2021 has deposed that she was pressured by the Father to provide alcohol to her.  Unsurprisingly, the Paternal Grandparents take the view, and at least have until this point in time, that, from their point of view, it was the Mother enabling the Father's difficulty with alcohol.

23. It turns out now that we have the very frank psychological report that the Father has now provided.  In fact, his difficulty was with other drugs of addiction in addition to alcohol, though it appears that the Mother was never privy to that but only had a suspicion.  But the Mother works at a store and she alleges that the Father would harass her to buy alcohol and would lose his temper and swear at her if she refused.  What I do not yet know is whether the Paternal Grandparents were aware of that or if they were aware whether they have had the ability to reflect on just how difficult that would be for the Mother in that circumstance at the same time as being a victim of family violence.

24. Whether they maintain that position remains to be seen but it is an unusual aspect to this hearing and in one sense provides some context and information as to why otherwise perfectly decent good people all concerned with the child's welfare may disagree about why things came about. 

25. Ultimately, the responsibility for the alcohol addiction and the difficulties with that can only come down to the Father.  Further, it appears that that addiction is one of longstanding.  Whether or not it predated the relationship with the Mother I do not know and at this point it does not matter, but what it means to me is that the child has until May been existing in a household where his Father had a very serious alcohol problem and there was a dynamic of serious family violence going on as well.  Either one of those circumstances would be a cross for the child to bear. 

26. It may well turn out that the time that he has been able to have with his grandparents was at all times a respite from that pressure but at the moment I am of the view, for the reasons stated previously, given there is so much happening and so much new information coming on that it is not in the child's interests to move immediately to unsupervised face to face time with his grandparents.

27. I propose to adjourn the matter to a date in about three months' time and to order the appointment of the Independent Children's Lawyer.  An order will be made so that my orders, my settled reasons and the section 11F report as well as the exhibits relating to family violence, the charge sheets and the outcome of the court should be made available to the child’s psychologist Ms E, to the family therapist, to F Family Services, to the Father's psychologist and I think that is everyone and, indeed, the Father would be at liberty to provide those documents to anyone else he attends for therapy.  I am aware of how profoundly disappointed the Father and the Paternal Grandparents will be by the continued interruption of their relationship with the child and I do take that into account, but I am concerned with the child's welfare.

28. I will add a notation to the orders that it is not disputed that until separation the Paternal Grandparents were significantly involved in the child's life. I accept that everybody has different views about how that all comes about, but, nonetheless, it is a fact that they were significantly involved.  This is, sadly, not one of those cases where we have paternal grandparents who had a very distant relationship with grandchildren lately seeking to be involved in the circumstances of their own son's difficulty.  So they have had a significant involvement, it is common ground, for some time and I want that to be clear on the face of the order.  

I certify that the preceding forty (40) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of Judge O'Shannessy.

Associate:

Dated:       20 April 2021