Mr ANDREWS(5.27 p.m.) —Mr Deputy Speaker, last year marked two decades of the operation of Australia's Family Law Act. The introduction of the act in 1975 reflected changes in matrimonial laws throughout much of the Western world.

Prior to 1959, divorce law in Australia remained under the jurisdiction of seven states. In that year, the government, pursuant to section 51 of the Australian constitution, introduced its own legislation in the form of the Matrimonial Causes Act. The effect of the bill was to consolidate the laws of the states into a code of general application throughout Australia. That act provided 14 grounds for divorce.

The Commonwealth parliament subsequently dealt with the formalities for the creation of marriage in the Marriage Act 1961. Fundamental changes to the existing law were proposed when former Senator Lionel Murphy, then Commonwealth Attorney-General, introduced a series of bills into this parliament in 1973 and 1974, culminating in the Family Law Act of 1975.

In a series of debates prior to the enactment of the Family Law Act, reference was made to United Nations documents, in particular the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Lionel Murphy referred to it in his second reading speech. That covenant recognises the centrality of the family in society when it states:

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and State.

The covenant also provides:

States parties to the present Covenant shall take appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. In the case of dissolution, provision shall be made for the necessary protection of any children.

Hence, the Family Law Act, which has existed for just over two decades, was constructed on two pillars: firstly, responsibilities and, secondly, rights. Hence, the bill introduced in 1973 and upon which subsequent bills were drafted was based on a series of stated principles, the first of which was that `a good family law should buttress, rather than undermine, the stability of marriage'.

The central importance of family was explicitly recognised in section 43 of the Family Law Act. This section provides that, in making any adjudication, the court must have regard to the following factors: the need to preserve and protect the institution of marriage as a union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others voluntarily entered into for life; the need to give the widest possible protection and assistance to the family as the natural and fundamental group unit of society, particularly while it is responsible for the care and education of dependent children; the need to protect the rights of children and promote their welfare; and the means available for assisting parties to a marriage to consider reconciliation or the improvement of their relationship to each other and to the children of the marriage.

The other pillar of the Family Law Act, namely, that of rights, is reflected in replacement of the grounds of divorce based on matrimonial fault with a single ground—breakdown of marriage, evidenced by 12 months separation of the parties.

Over the past 20 years there has been a considerable change so far as marriage and divorce is concerned. Whilst it is true that each year approximately 115,000 marriages are celebrated in Australia, we have seen in the last 20 years an increase in the rate of divorce. It is often said that over a lifetime something like one-third of all marriages in Australia will end in separation and divorce. Taking just the statistics which relate to the number of divorced women per thousand married women, there has been a threefold increase over 20 years. Hence, a considerable number of divorces occur and a considerable number of children are subject to the process of separation and divorce and their lives are interrupted in some ways as a consequence.

Despite that, marriage and family life remains the overwhelming choice of Australians. This may be because, as the Council on Families in America pointed out, marriage has evolved in societies in the Western world as a complex institution containing at least five dimensions to which people feel attraction: a natural dimension, a religious dimension, an economic aspect, a social dimension and a legal dimension. However, the large number of divorces that occur each year cause trauma for many people in Australian society and have an enormous economic cost—in the order of at least $3 billion a year but, more realistically, probably $4 billion a year.

Also, the changes which have occurred over the last decade or more have had a considerable impact on young couples entering marriage. Last year social researcher Jeanne Strachan, in a presentation entitled `What young couples want in the nineties', said that there were three things that people want above anything else: a caring and compatible life partner, children, and the best for their children. She said that it was always and probably will be always thus. However, there are a number of problems, partly economic and partly social, that are facing many young couples entering relationships these days. Strachan says, for example:

Young couples today are the first generation since the war to face the reality that they often can't obtain, even with two full-time workers in the house, what their own parents saw as a fair and reasonable reward for their hard work.

This of course raises a fundamental dilemma for many people today: in our modern society, in which global competition is something which is being pursued in order to remain competitive as a nation within a community of nations, there is increasing pressure on people to work, to work harder, to work longer and to have both spouses in the work force. That, in turn, has an impact on families in that less time is available than would have been in the past. So people today are facing discontinuities in their lives. Changes in the marketplace have caused work insecurity, and reliance upon social welfare and social security, which has been targeted by a number of governments on both sides of this chamber, has also led to a degree of insecurity.

I mention these things by way of background because over the past two decades in which the Family Law Act has been in operation in Australia a series of inquiries have looked at different aspects of the operation of the act. In 1980 a joint committee of this place and the other place held an inquiry. In the last two parliaments, the Joint Select Committee on Certain Family Law Issues looked into a variety of things, including the operation of the Family Law Act, custody, maintenance, parenting plans, parenting orders, and the funding and administration of the court and the Child Support Agency.

But what has not been looked at over the past 20 years is what might be regarded as another aspect of family law, namely, marriage. Questions are often asked in society about whether or not it is too easy to get a divorce. People look at the statistics and say that we ought to make getting a divorce a bit tougher for people. We do not seem to be asking about the events surrounding people getting married in the first place or whether we are doing enough for them and providing enough by way of education and preparation so that when people come to make a lifetime decision they are more aware of their expectations of each other and more aware of the relationship they are about to enter.

It was therefore heartening for me to note that in the budget this government has committed an extra $6.1 million over three years to marriage and relationship education. It is also equally heartening that the Attorney-General (Mr Williams) has given a reference to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, which I chair, to consider and report on a number of relevant matters, namely, the range of community views on the factors contributing to marriage and relationship breakdown; the categories of individuals most likely to benefit from programs aimed at preventing marriage and relationship breakdown; the most effective strategies to address the needs of identified target groups; and the role of governments in the provision of these services.

I hope that members of the Australian public who have an interest in this matter and in relationships in the Australian community and who have a contribution to make will make their contribution to the committee by writing a letter to the secretary of the committee, care of the House of Representatives. As I said, family life and marriage is still overwhelmingly supported in Australia. It is something that people will want to see continued. (Time expired)