MABART & HASELDEN

The Family Court of Australia considered competing applications by Mr Mabart (the father) and Ms Haselden (the mother) concerning parenting arrangements for their two children, L and V. The father sought orders for the children to live with him for half of the time during school terms, with a split week arrangement. The mother sought orders for the children to live with her and spend alternate weekends with the father. Both parties also sought orders regarding holidays and special occasions.

The court was required to determine several legal issues, including the extent of family violence, specifically emotional and verbal abuse by the father towards the mother, and the impact of the father's behaviour on the children. The court also had to consider the children's views on their living arrangements and the extent to which these views might have been influenced by the father. Additionally, the court needed to assess the weight to be given to hearsay evidence presented by the father regarding the mother's alcohol use.

In its reasoning, the court found that the father had engaged in emotional and verbal abuse towards the mother, which had caused significant psychological distress to one of the children. The court noted that the children had been exposed to this family violence. While the children expressed a view that equal time with both parents would be fair, the expert evidence indicated this view was likely influenced by the father. The court also admitted hearsay statements from a housekeeper regarding the mother's alcohol use but gave them little weight due to the father's failure to call the housekeeper as a witness.

Ultimately, the court ordered that the children live with the mother and have substantial and significant time with the father. The court also ordered that the children's counsellor explain the court orders to the children, and the father's time with the children was suspended until this explanation occurred. The court also made detailed orders regarding the father's time with the children during school terms, holidays, and special occasions, including specific provisions for collection and return of the children and restraints on the father entering the mother's home.