04/13/2002 "The nature of families"

The nature of families
In modem Australian life, families come in all forms. The traditional mum, dad and kids remain the solid core of society. But divorce, blended families and, more recently, the rise of alternative sexual models, create many other types.

Society recognises that. Overwhelmingly, it accepts it and in many ways that tolerance and good will make the whole tangle workable.

Yesterday the Family Court faced a testing and thoroughly modern mess.

It is telling that the principles used to resolve the matter were as traditional as they were sound. A homosexual man, who donated his sperm to a lesbian couple wanting a child, was seeking access to his son. The man said he loved and cared for the toddler. He wanted to show the boy to his own ageing dad. The lesbian couple protested that the access would only confuse the boy.

They complained of discrimination against lesbians. Ironically they also argued there was no room in their same-sex relationship for a "father" and protested that the boy returned from seeing his dad with an unpleasant male smell. To his credit the judge dismissed their arguments and increased the father's access to his son. In our diverse society, many children are raised in the absence of one parent.

This does not make it desirable. In his ruling, the judge recognised the boy was a happy and contented
child. He was also satisfied the relationship with his biological father was beneficial. The judge said the boy gained considerably from their time together.

Rightly he questioned whether our laws were able to cope with new forms of conception, changing concepts of parenthood and non-traditional families. But he then relied on a fundamental and common sense principle set out 27 years ago in the Family Law Act. "Children have the right to know and be cared for by both their parents."

Some things don't change.