In a detailed interview outlining her vision for the future of Australia, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has said that if given the opportunity to lead the country, all Australian couples would be forced to enter into a prenuptial agreement prior to marrying.
“Family law is high on my agenda,” the Queensland senator told the Sunday Mail. “It needs court-approved premarital agreements on finance and parental issues.”
Hanson says the pressure currently experienced by family law courts would be eased through the introduction of prenups because financial and child care agreements would already be in place.
“Family law is high on my agenda. I just think it needs a complete overhaul,” the 62-year-old said.
“It needs court-approved premarital agreements on finance and parental issues. So before someone goes into a relationship or a marriage, you must have a premarital agreement. It would be confidential (and lodged with courts)," she said.
"We’ve got to free up our court system. It’s overloaded. A lot of judgments aren’t being handed down for years.”
Prior to the 2016 election, Hanson announced One Nation's support to abolish the family law court completely, recommending the system be replaced by a "Family Tribunal," which would consist of "people from mainstream Australia" with no legal training or expertise in family issues overseeing and ruling on complex legal family disputes, separations and child custody cases.
Then in September, Hanson suggested that family violence was in part a result of men's frustration over the family court system, and even went as far as to suggest that fewer men would murder members of their family if the court was abolished.
Domestic violence survivor and family law court supporter Rosie Batty speaks to Mia Freedman on No Filter. Post continues.
Also during her Sunday Mail interview, Hanson said that if elected Prime Minister she would abolish the GST, consider a substantially reduced flat-rate tax of just two percent, introduce an Australian identity card, set a migration limit, launch a royal commission into Islam and reduce the number of politicians within the Australian parliament.
Top Comments
I wonder if Hanson thinks a useful pre-nup would be: if you are violent towards me or our children, (physically or emotionally), you lose any rights to custody in a divorce.
Presumably the pre-nup would also include actions to be taken if you put forward a false accusation of domestic violence or false accusations of child abuse?
The Family Law system is bogged down mostly by child custody issues, which could definitely be worked out better and faster by family counsellors and mediators outside the court system, rather than by greedy, over-priced lawyers who worsen the impact and pressure on families during separation. Lawyers should only be involved to give initial legal advice at the beginning and to draw the paperwork up at the end. Pauline's pre-nups wouldn't make a dent in this because families' needs change, couples and individuals change. People are allowed to evolve as individuals and change their minds about what they view as important. Expecting couples to know what parenting issues will be important to them in future, before they even have kids, is unrealistic, simplistic and short-sighted. But the Family Court system definitely isn't working so this renewed political spotlight is still welcome nevertheless.