Greenberg and Greenberg

[2019] FCCA 1177

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

GREENBERG & GREENBERG [2019] FCCA 1177

Catchwords:
FAMILY LAW – Undefended parenting hearing.

Applicant: MR GREENBERG

Respondent: MS GREENBERG

File Number: MLC 4505 of 2015

Judgment of: Judge Harland

Hearing date: 15 April 2019

Date of Last Submission: 15 April 2019

Delivered at: Melbourne

Delivered on: 15 April 2019

REPRESENTATION

Counsel for the Applicant: Ms Jefford

Solicitors for the Applicant: Sarah Jefford

No appearance by the Respondent

Solicitors for the Independent Childrens Lawyer: Ms Foulkes of Beswick Foulkes Family Law

ORDERS

1. The mother have sole parental responsibility for the children [X] born … 2005 and [Y] born … 2007.

2. The children live with the mother.

3. The mother be permitted to change the children’s surnames to … and register such change with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria.

4. The children spend no time with the father.

5. The Independent Children’s Lawyer be discharged.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym Greenberg & Greenberg is approved pursuant to s.121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT
OF AUSTRALIA
AT MELBOURNE

MLC 4505 of 2015

MR GREENBERG

Applicant

And

MS GREENBERG

Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. These reasons for judgment were delivered orally.  They have been corrected from the transcript.  Grammatical errors have been corrected and an attempt has been made to render the orally delivered reasons amenable to being read.

2. In this matter, I am satisfied that it is in the children’s best interests to make the orders sought by the respondent mother in her response filed on 31 July 2017.

3. The father commenced the proceedings on 23 June 2017 and was legally represented at that stage. The father has not spent any time with the children since 2014. This is a matter where the father has committed serious family violence offences against the mother and children which has resulted in two significant periods of imprisonment, and the mother believes that he is involved in further criminal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.

4. It is significant that in the father’s initiating affidavit he does not address the issues of his violent conduct in any real way. He does not refer to the lengths of his imprisonment and does not engage with that issue in any detail. Despite being the applicant, the father has disengaged from the proceedings and failed to comply with orders that he obtain a psychiatric assessment. The Independent Children’s Lawyer supports the orders sought by the mother apart from the order with respect to her being permitted to change the children’s surnames for which the Independent Children’s Lawyer does not have a view.

5. Quite appropriately in the circumstances of this matter, the Independent Children’s Lawyer decided not to interview the children unless they requested that she do so. Given that they have not seen their father for some years and he has not engaged in the proceedings, there is little point in having them involved in that manner.

6. I will make the order that is sought by the mother with respect to the ability to change the children’s surname to her maiden name. I am satisfied that in the circumstances it is in the best interests of the children that she be permitted to do so given the issues that she has outlined in her material.

I certify that the preceding six (6) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment of Judge Harland

Date: 6 May 2019