In this issue:

• A WELCOME DECISION TO REVALIDATE NEW LINK BETWEEN THE F3 AND M7 CURRENTLY PROVIDED BY PENNANT HILLS ROAD

• CHILD SUPPORT REFORMS TO DELIVER FAIRER SYSTEM

• FIFTEEN NEW WORK FOR THE DOLE PROJECTS IN THE ELECTORATE

• MORE FUNDING FOR COTTAGE-STYLE RESPITE CARE

• TWO LOCAL SCHOOLS RECEIVE THE 2006 NATIONAL AWARDS FOR QUALITY SCHOOLING

• FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TAKE STEP TO SAFEGUARD CUSTOMER E-SECURITY BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS WILL NEVER SEND YOU AN EMAIL ASKING FOR YOUR PERSONAL SECURITY DETAILS

• CHANGES TO FAMILY LAW - SPEECH TO LOCAL MEN’S BREAKFAST AT ASQUITH

• LOCAL SPEECH ON ‘ID SECURITY IN TODAY’S WORLD’

WELCOME DECISION TO REVALIDATE NEW LINK BETWEEN THE F3 AND M7 CURRENTLY PROVIDED BY PENNANT HILLS ROAD – I welcomethe decision of the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads to have his department and the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) engage professional assistance to revalidate the assumption and modelling underpinning the Sinclair Knight Merz report. This will result in reconsideration of a new link between the F3 and the M7 currently provided by Pennant Hills Road. The Hon Jim Lloyd MP, Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads made this decision following my representations on behalf of constituents and local interested organisations that have raised questions about the validity of decisions taken.I was also pleased that the Minister has suggested that it would be sensible for the New South Wales government to consider the need for an outer ring road and to investigate the need for road reservation for the future. I will continue to press for a resolution as expeditiously as possible of the problems experienced on Pennant Hills Road in particular.While the decisions that should be taken have to be efficacious, I hope that revalidation can occur quickly so that the resolution of our traffic needs is not unduly delayed

CHILD SUPPORT REFORMS TO DELIVER FAIRER SYSTEM - The Australian Government has announced a major overhaul of the Child Support Scheme, which aims to deliver a system that acts in the best interests of children. The reforms were the most significant in the 18-year history of the scheme and will affect around 1.4 million parents and more importantly, 1.1 million children. Australians using the Child Support Scheme know first hand that the current system does not treat children equally and does not work in the best interests of families and these changes aim to reduce conflict between separated parents and, in particular, encourage shared parenting by introducing a system that is fairer and puts the needs of children first. The reforms will be introduced in three stages from 1 st July this year and among the key changes: A new child support formula which reflects the true cost of raising children in Australia that shares the cost between parents based on their respective incomes and better balances the needs of first and second families. The minimum child support payments will rise from $5 to $6 and will be indexed annually to ensure it keeps pace with inflation. The Child Support Agency will increase its actions against parents who failed to support their children. Parents will be able to have child support decisions reviewed by the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and for many parents this will mean not having to resort to the courts when a dispute occurs.

Importantly, the new formula reflects the value of shared parental responsibility and treats children more equally. While it will take some time to roll out such significant legislative changes, involving complex and sensitive issues, the Government will begin the process immediately. There are two pieces of legislation and it is the Government’s intention to introduce them in the winter and spring session of Parliament this year. Further information about reform of the Child Support Scheme can be found on the website of the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs at www.facs.gov.au, or by calling 1800 050 020.

FIFTEEN NEWLOCAL WORK FOR THE DOLE PLACES - This is good news for the Berowra electorate as these local activities have been approved under the auspices of the Uniting Church in Australia. The participants will assist various local non-profit organisations, including the Heart Foundation and the local Department of Housing with all aspects of event management. This round of projects will provide over 5,800 national work experience opportunities for job seekers with a broad choice of worthwhile work experience to boost their job hunting prospects. Since Work for the Dole was set up in late 1997, over 23,000 projects have been approved, providing significant work experience opportunities for unemployed Australians. Work for the Dole projects are benefiting those directly involved as well as their local communities. The Howard Government has said right from the start that one of the key objectives of Work for the Dole is to improve or develop the work habits of unemployed people. Lifting the self-esteem of participants as well as changing how the community views the unemployed is an important step towards the ultimate goal of getting back to work is essential. Participants benefit from improved job prospects, increased confidence, self-respect and motivation, the ability to develop team-work and communication/social skills and the opportunity to gain references and certificates.

MORE FUNDING FOR COTTAGE-STYLE RESPITE CARE - The first major allocation of funding to cottage-style respite care will provide local increased support to carers of frail older Australians. The funding announced today is for a range of new “cottage” respite services that provide a safe home-like environment for frail older people, which gives their family and carers a break from the work of caring for that person. The Federal government has announced funding of up to $59 million to 70 cottage respite providers across Australia to enable them to provide cottage-style overnight respite. This funding was made available in the 2005 Budget. The extra services funded by this measure will make a big difference to carers, including those in remote areas who do not have access to other respite care. Carers, usually family or friends, helping older people, make a great contribution to our community, often at a personal cost. Thanks to their efforts, many people who would otherwise have to enter residential care are able to live in the community and maintain their social links. The Australian Government recognises that older people want to stay in their own homes, and it places a very high value on the work of these carers. This additional funding will go to provide additional flexible and innovative overnight cottage respite, where it is most needed. The 2005-06 Budget provided $207.6 million over four years, bringing total funding for the National Respite for Carers program in 2005/06 to $135 million, to build on the government’s current investment in supporting carers.

TWO LOCAL SCHOOLS RECEIVE THE 2006 NATIONAL AWARDS FOR QUALITY SCHOOLING - As part of the Australian Government’s 2006 National Awards for Quality Schooling, two local schools namely: St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Asquith and Loreto Normanhurst received their Awards at a ceremony on Monday 27 th February 2006 in the Great Hall at Parliament House. St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Asquith and Loreto Normanhurst should be especially commended and I am delighted to see these two schools in my electorate of Berowra given the recognition they deserve. I join with the community in celebrating their achievements. The Awards recognise schools, teachers, principals and school support staff who have made positive contributions to the quality of education in Australia. A total of 88 Awards were presented this year at the ceremony. These schools have made a tremendous contribution to the community by improving the quality of schooling for local students. Important Awards like this allow us to recognise and showcase the achievement being made in education. These achievements lead to improved educational outcomes for students and contribute to a positive future for our children. I warmly congratulate our local winners and encourage schools to keep up the good work. Details of the NAQS and the 2006 winners can be found at the Teaching Australia website: www.teachingaustralia.edu.au.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TAKE STEP TO SAFEGUARD CUSTOMER E-SECURITY BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS WILL NEVER SEND YOU AN EMAIL ASKING FOR YOUR PERSONAL SECURITY DETAILS - I am pleased with the recent announcement by the Australian Banker’s Association and the Credit Union Industry Association that further enhances consumer protection. As part of National Scam Awareness Month, Australia’s banks and credit unions have issued a statement which provides a clear message to consumers ‘Your bank will never send you an email asking for personal security details’. These sorts of emails are very common and can appear genuine, but they are not and if you receive this sort of email, you should report it via www.scamwatch.gov.au and then delete it. Australian consumers expect that their hard-earned dollars are held securely. I applaud the Australian Banker’s Association and the Credit Union Industry Association for taking yet another step to support consumer protection. Scam Awareness Month is part of a broader ‘War on Scams’ campaign by the Australian Government to help reduce the risk of Australian consumers being caught up in scam operations that can prove very costly. The Australian Government is working very closely with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Federal Police to gather information about the scam operations and track them down. Further information about Scam Awareness Month is available at www.scamwatch.gov.au or 1300 795 995.

SPEECH TO A LOCAL GROUP CALLED ‘MEN’S BUSINESS’ AT ASQUITH ON CHANGES TO FAMILY LAW - Last year the Government announced the most significant reforms to the family law system in 30 years. The aim is to bring about a cultural change in the way family breakdowns are handled in Australia. We want to move away from parents fighting out issues in the courtroom to sitting down across the table and working out what is best for their children. We also want to ensure that best interests of children are protected and advanced as far as possible.

In last year’s Budget, we announced the biggest ever investment in the family law system (almost $400 million over four years) to give parents the support they need to do the best for their children (whether to assist them to work out their difficulties and stay together or to support them through the process of separation). A key element of the investment is the new network of 65 Family Relationship Centres to be established over the coming three years (including one at North Ryde).

We are also establishing or expanding other services to assist families strengthen relationships or deal with issues that arise from a separation (eg more family relationship counselling, more dispute resolution, more programs to assist high conflict families deal with contact issues and more services to assist families in handing over children from one parent to another).

On 8 December 2005, the Government introduced the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Bill 2005 to implement a range of significant legislative reforms to family law. The Bill builds on the extensive consultation that was undertaken by the Government on this issue. It implements the overwhelming majority of recommendations made by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on an earlier Exposure draft.

The amendments contained in the Bill aim to promote sharing of parental responsibility after separation and (with appropriate exceptions) require parents to attempt dispute resolution before taking parenting issues to court. From the point of view of fathers, the significant changes are to:

introduce a presumption of equal shared parental responsibility (with the exceptions of family violence or child abuse). Exercising equal shared parental responsibility involves parents making joint decisions about major long‑term issues for the benefit of the child, such as where a child goes to school or major health issues. what is important is that the focus be on ways that parents are able to continue and develop a meaningful relationship with their children after separation.

The Bill reflects the Government’s determination to ensure the right of children to grow up with the love and support of both of their parents. It requires the court to consider whether children spending equal time with both parents is reasonably practical and in the best interests of the child. Please see further information on www.ag.gov.au/family.

Child support reforms

The Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs has responsibility for policy issues concerning the Child Support Scheme, including the method of assessing child support payments. Child Support policy has been reviewed by the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support. I understand that the Taskforce has presented its report, In the Best Interests of Children, to Government. The report covers complex and important issues affecting families following separation. The Government is considering the report's recommendations.

Background

The main elements of the Government’s family law reforms are:

Changes to the law to assist in bringing about a cultural shift in how family separation is managed: away from litigation and towards cooperative parenting.

The establishment of 65 Family Relationship Centres over the next three years and a national advice line and website to assist families at all stages of their relationships and act as gateways to the information and resources of the broader family law system.

15 new services under the Contact Orders Program, to help high-conflict families restore contact between non-resident parents and their children, where contact has broken down.

30 new children’s contact services, providing safe, neutral places for parents to handover and spend time with their children.

increased resources for family dispute resolution (mediation and similar services) to assist families sort out their separation issues rather than going to court and to help identify unresolved conflict before going to court; and

increased services (funded and administered by the Department of Family and Community Services) to help strengthen family relationships (such as up to 40 new pre-marriage and family relationship educations services, 45 new men and family relationship services, 35 new family relationship counselling and skills services and more funding for specialised family violence services and to Men’s Line Australia).

50:50 Joint Custody

There has been a lot of interest in the shared parenting time. Correspondents are dissatisfied that the Bill does not create a presumption for parents to share 50:50 time: In the report, Every picture tells a story, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs rejected the idea of 50/50 shared custody as a presumption in the Act. Rather, the Committee concluded that ‘the goal for the majority of families should be one of equality of care and responsibility along with substantially shared parenting time’. The Government has considered these issues and the Committee’s approach are reflected in the Bill. The presumption of equal shared parental responsibility in the Bill is a significant new change to the law. There is no such presumption under the current Act and a court is not obliged to consider parties having equal shared parental responsibility for a child. The changes to the law will mean that equal shared parental responsibility will be a starting point that the court must take into account when making a parenting order. Exercising equal shared parental responsibility under an order involves parents making joint decisions about major long-term issues, for the benefit of the child.

The presumption will not apply if there are reasonable grounds for the court to believe that a parent of a child, or a person who lives with a parent of a child, has engaged in child abuse or family violence. This is an objective test which is applied by the court and it will not be enough to suggest that there is only a minor risk of family violence or child abuse. The Bill also contains a new provision that requires the court to consider children spending equal time with both a child’s parents in certain circumstances. This provision implements recommendations 4 and 5 of the LACA Committee. It provides that if a parenting order provides or is to provide the parents with equal shared parental responsibility, the court must consider making an order that a child spend equal time with each parent. In doing so, the court must consider whether it is in the best interests of the child and reasonably practicable for the child to spend equal time with the parents. This is not a presumption of equal shared parenting time. If equal time is not appropriate, the court must consider substantial and significant time.

Substantial and significant time requires that the child spend both some time on weekends and holidays and some time on other days, both day time and night time. It must also include time in daily routine and allow for participation in events that are significant to the child and parent. This might include sporting events, birthdays or concerts, family weddings or christenings, mothers or father’s day and birthdays. This is intended to ensure that the courts consider arrangements that are much more than ‘one weekend a fortnight and half of the holidays’ or an 80:20 arrangement. The Bill recognises that what is important is that the focus be on ways that both parents are able to develop a meaningful relationship with their children and share important events including everyday time with the child. It is anticipated that the Bill will be debated during the Autumn Parliamentary Sittings.

LOCAL SPEECH ON ‘ID SECURITY IN TODAY’S WORLD’ - When the terrorists’ bombs exploded on the London transport system last July, the effects were palpable and immediate.They brought one of the world’s financial capitals to a stand still and they killed more than fifty people, and devastated the lives of many, many more.They caused governments around the world to examine yet again – the laws, processes and procedures they have in place to protect their people, their business and economies – from the ravages of terrorism.We, in Australia, were no exception. The Federal government conducted a wide-ranging review, and have since tightened our laws, and refined our procedures. But anti-terrorism measures are always an unfinished canvas – and one of the outstanding issues here is whether identity security should be further tightened, and whether an identity card should be introduced into Australia.

We might add that we are not alone in having this debate. Britain, too, has been canvassing the issue – and this month, they have taken the first steps towards introducing such a card. But before we look at the issues, we want to take a step back, and take a look at identity security as a whole. Identity security is central to Australia's national security, law enforcement and economic interests. False identities underpin terrorist and criminal activity and undermine border and citizenship controls and efforts to combat terrorist financing and financial crime. Stolen identities are used to open bank accounts, to apply fraudulently for credit cards or passports or government benefits. Terrorists use false or stolen identities to move their operatives and their deadly tools of trade in and out of countries. For example, the nineteen terrorists involved in the attacks on September 11 used over 350 false names in planning and executing their attacks.

According to the most recent figures available, identity fraud costs Australians at least $1.1 billion annually. Internationally, the figure could be as high as $2 trillion.
Only just this month we’ve seen reports that tens of millions of dollars of emergency funding intended for the victims of Hurricane Katrina was wrongly paid out because of ID fraud. And the cost of this type of fraud is not just measured in dollars. A person’s identity is an extremely valuable asset. Identity fraud can have a devastating emotional and financial effect on victims whose identity has been stolen - there can be no greater invasion of a person’s privacy than the theft of identity. Think for a moment what would happen to you if someone stole your identity…. ran up significant debts in your name and even changed your address so you were not aware of the debt being overdue. Your bank, business creditors and other financial institutions suddenly start hearing that your credit rating is of concern. They start calling in loans, including your house mortgage. Your business is in jeopardy, your reputation is shot, and your friends are starting to wonder about you.

This is not hypothetical – it is happening now – and a recent article in the US magazine Business Week suggested significant numbers of small businesses in the United States were being forced into bankruptcy because of ID theft. It can take victims years to get their personal and financial affairs back in order. Some of the solutions are in the hands of the business community. For example, the development of smart card technology, such as chips on credit and debit cards, together with additional verification measures – would greatly improve the security of credit card technology. We understand the major banks, credit card companies are going to introduce this technology into Australia, and we would encourage this. However, it is also essential to Australia’s security and economic interests that the identities of people accessing government services, benefits, official documents and positions of trust, can be accurately verified. This is the responsibility of government. Even before the London bombings, we were taking steps to strengthen this aspect of identity security.

Early last year, we started work, with the States and Territories, on a National Identity Security Strategy to combat identity theft and the fraudulent use of stolen and assumed identities. This strategy aims to develop and strengthen the existing processes used for personal identification – and to make sure that the procedures are consistent across jurisdictions. For example, the Government is already tightening verification systems to make it harder for terrorists to cross borders and infiltrate security systems. We are one of the first countries in the world to have started using biometrically-enabled ePassports The Australian Government is also working with States and Territories to develop ‘gold standard’ enrolment procedures and documents for those forms – like birth certificates and drivers licences – which are used to establish a person’s identity.

This co-operation is important because many of the key documents are issued by State and Territory governments. Once the strategy is implemented, all relevant, authorised agencies will be able to use a common range of documents to identify clients who register for services with them. This financial year, the Government allocated $5.9 million to fund two key pilot projects, including the development of a prototype document verification service. The prototype document verification service went “live” just a few weeks ago. It allows for online, real time verification of documents presented to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for passport applications, and to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs for applications for citizenship. Of course, in a democracy, everyone also has a right to privacy – and this is not a right we want to trample on – so the prototype has been developed so that no personal information is stored in the system. The federal privacy commissioner has been involved in developing the strategy, and will continue to be involved throughout its implementation.

After the London bombings, the Prime Minister made it clear that everything was back on the table, including the possibility of a national identity card. As many of you will be aware, we will shortly be announcing the details of a preliminary study into the issue. It is something on which the government does not have a concluded view – and we have an open mind on the matter. However, we can make a few key points. Any moves to strengthen further our identity security need to be developed in the Australian context. For example, unlike the UK, Australia has required face-to-face interviews for passport applications since 1982, with 40 per cent of Australians currently holding a passport. We will need to look at whether the costs associated with a national identity card outweigh the benefits of the card or vice versa. And in relation to terrorism, the question we will be asking is not – would an ID card prevent terrorist attacks or terrorist activities – but would it help in carrying out investigations into terrorist activities?…. or would it make it more difficult for a would-be terrorist to purchase the ingredients of a bomb – without raising suspicions beforehand? Would it make it easier to track down people engaged in terrorist activities and would it make it harder for people who are engaged in terrorist activities to assume false identities? The Government takes identity security very seriously – particularly in the current climate. We are constantly looking for ways in which we could improve it and we are always open to new ideas. But – are we going to have an ID card? It’s too early to say yes or no to that question…. but in a world that is using more online transactions we have to be more and more vigilant about the need to protect our identities and to find ways to be more certain that we actually know who it is we are dealing with.