Senator MARGETTS (6:07 PM) —Not so, Minister. The notice requirement, as I mentioned, acts as an incentive for the paying parent to make an ongoing and steady arrangement. The paper notification is only necessary if it is necessary to go to the registrar. So the reality is that where there is an ongoing working relationship and a steady payment of an in-kind payment then it is to the benefit of the parties involved to make that a steady arrangement, that is, `I will pay telephone. I will pay rent. This is going to be my contribution. I will pay a proportion of such and such a bill, or I will pay your hospital benefits.'

The reality is that the minister is not stating the case correctly, where there is a problem where people have gone to the registrar and then the registrar will want to know whether people are being treated fairly, that is, if they are being given some notice. It is just commonsense. It is humanity we are talking about and the ability of people to know if somebody else is organising their lives. This would not be a problem in a normal loving, working relationship. We are talking about the potential for people whose lives are already difficult to have them made more difficult by someone who is perhaps tweaking their buttons if they cannot get to them in any other way. Anyone who thinks that that cannot happen in these kinds of relationships is not getting the advice that we are getting from those people lobbying us on this issue. So I do urge that, instead of simply poking fun at our concerns about what is happening in these relationships, the minister seriously consider it.