TENNISON & VERNEY

[2013] FCCA 2446

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

TENNISON & VERNEY [2013] FCCA 2446

Catchwords:
FAMILY LAW – Parenting – final undefended orders.

Legislation:

Family Law Act 1975

Applicant: MS TENNISON

Respondent: MR VERNEY

File Number: DGC 3565 of 2009

Judgment of: Judge Henderson

Hearing date: 9 July 2013

Date of Last Submission: 9 July 2013

Delivered at: Parramatta

Delivered on: 9 July 2013

REPRESENTATION

Counsel for the Applicant: Mr Georges

Solicitors for the Applicant: G & S Group

ORDERS

1. All prior parenting orders in relation to the child [X] born 2009 are discharged.

2. The mother shall have sole parental responsibility for the child.

3. The child shall live with the mother.

4. Any time the child spends with the father shall be at the sole discretion of the mother.

5. The name of to the child [X] born 2009 be removed from the Airport Watch List.

6. The mother is permitted to travel outside of the Commonwealth of Australia on any occasion she deems appropriate.

7. The mother is authorised to apply for a passport and any visas for the child without the consent or otherwise of the father and is authorised to sign all necessary documents in his name.

8. Pursuant to section 65DA(2) 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 Attachment A and these particulars are included in these orders.

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

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT
OF AUSTRALIA
AT PARRAMATTA

DGC 3565 of 2009

MS TENNISON

Applicant

And

MR VERNEY

Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. In the matter of Verney & Tennison, this is an application filed by the mother on 20 May 2013, seeking to discharge orders made by the Court on 7 October 2011. They concern the parenting arrangements for the child [X], born 2009.

2. Now, that was a strongly and hard-fought contest. The father wanted to spend time with the child in Melbourne. The mother wanted to take the child to (country omitted). There was toing and froing and much difficulty. Ultimately, I made orders.

3. Most unfortunately, as revealed from the mother’s affidavit, the father has not availed himself of the time with the child, and has, from the mother’s point of view, yet again abandoned this child as that was her complaint on prior occasions. That it was an inconsistent relationship, and he would come into the child’s life and then, as he determined, leave the child’s life.

4. Despite the fact that there were orders in place, dated 7 October 2011 concerning the child being able to travel overseas to (country omitted), and she is not on the airport watch list, the Department, DIMA, who issues visas will not allow the mother to obtain a visa for the child, because the father’s passport number has to be recorded upon the application. The father will not give the mother the passport application number.

5. The authorities will not allow the child to have a visa to travel to (country omitted) unless the mother has sole parental responsibility.

6. The mother’s application with an affidavit was filed 28 May 2013 seeking I vary the orders.

7. I am going to vacate all the orders being those made 7 October 2011 and 22 October 2009 for the following.

8. I have read the mother’s affidavit filed in support of the application. I have also read the affidavit filed by her solicitor, setting out how the application has been served on the father, being sent to his last known residential address in Melbourne as well as to his email address, which is the address he gave the mother when he decided he would leave for (country omitted) and not spend any time with his child.

9. It is quite extraordinary in circumstances, where he fought so hard to spend time with the child, that he could write to the mother on Thursday, 20 September 2012, and say this:

   Hi, Ms Tennison. Find the attached copy of the consent form regarding [X]’s travel to (country omitted) in April/May.

   Also to let you know that I’m overseas for some time. You can contact me on my email if needed.

   I posted the consent form on your address at Suburb A. You might get it by the end of the week. Hope [X] is okay and doing good. Give her my love.

10. That is it.

11. The child has yet again been abandoned by her father, and it has been left to her mother to provide for her emotionally, financially and psychologically. In those circumstances, I will vacate all prior parenting orders in relation to this child. It is certainly inappropriate, given the father’s behaviour towards his child, to abandon her, come in and out of her life, and be so offhand with the child’s affection and need for a stable and ongoing relationship with a parent that there be orders in place. If the father cannot understand the needs of the child, then I must leave that responsibility in parenting to the mother, who has always been available for the child, and has always supported the child.

12. I will rebut the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility. The father has abandoned the care of the child to the mother. He pays no child support. He has got no interest in her care. I will not ask the mother to contact this man to discuss important issues the mother can make those decisions and she makes them well. Therefore, I need not consider an order for equal or significant and substantial time. The father is not even in the country. I will not even look at the issue of time and it will be as the mother says, to be agreed between he and she, and only if the mother agrees.

13. I find that the orders the mother puts forward are in the child’s best interest. I cannot assess the benefit to the child of a relationship with her father at this time. He is in (country omitted). The father shows scant responsibility towards the needs of the child, to her education, her financial support. He has taken up no opportunity to spend time with his daughter, and he has left her in the sole care of her mother. So I will accommodate him.

14. Therefore, the Court makes orders on a final and undefended basis.

I certify that the preceding fourteen (14) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment of Judge Henderson

Date: 9 August 2018