Janet CollinsWhose Fault Divorce
July 14th 2009 07:53
Prominent and outspoken Liberal MP, Tony Abbott, has again sparked a lot of debate with a suggested proposal to make divorces a lot harder. Abbott is a keen traditionalist and behind his proposal is a view that divorce has become just too easy.
The proposal does not go so far as to suggest a return to the days before the no-fault divorce laws of 1975 but he does suggest a commitment by couples who marry to decide on their own to make getting a divorce much harder than it is now and opt in to a fault-based divorce.
This may sound very wholesome on the surface, but without making it an actual law, it is difficult to understand how such a commitment would be binding. That didn't stop a whole lot of commentary about it from lawyers, politicians of all colours and private investigators.
Most, if not all, couples – I would think – marry with the intention of staying together. Down the track all sorts of things and life events can change the way many feel about one another. Divorce can be the result of so many things.
Abbott’s proposal has not gone down too well with the private investigation industry – an industry that presumably would tend to gain out of such a introduction – because many in the industry remember the dark old days before no-fault divorce.
Catching someone in a compromising position with someone else in a motel room, many say, was hardly a decent way to make a living. More than that, often these acts were staged in order for a divorce to become acceptable by the courts.
We are in a very different world now to the one pre-1975 and many argue that it is so easy to separate that the proposal makes no sense. The divorce, they say, is only a formality. Others have been quick to criticise the proposal as an outdated model that turns into a blame game.
Abbott is well known for his stand on traditional values but I think this proposal has had very little thought and verges on the ridiculous.
What do you think?
Sourced: www.smh.com.au; www.abc.net.au
Image credit: www.dailymail.co.uk
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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i truly doubt all his campaigning (or "suggestions") about divorce and abortion actually represent the opinions of the people in his electorate
i think it is disrespectful and judgemental to all the men and women in unhappy or abusive relationships
Comment by Janet Collins
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Most of the comments I read and heard in the media were very critical of the idea. I think it was one of those stupid "come back to the 50s" ideas that really had very little thought behind it.
Many would love to see long and happy marriages but it is really living in fairyland to think that we could actually revert to these old methods to fix it. Maybe the introduction of more family friendly work environments would be a lot of help.