Family Law in the U.K., Dads On The Air, 9 October, 2007.
DADS ON THE AIR
Tuesday 9th October 2007, 10.30am to 12 midday
2GLF FM 89.3 in Sydney
and ONLINE via live streaming at http://www.893fm.com.au
or in MP3 format at http://www.dadsontheair.net
FAMILY LAW IN THE U.K.
With special guest...
Ray Barry, Religious and Political Co-ordinator for Fathers 4 Justice and Party Leader for the Equal Parenting Alliance. Ray spoke to Greg Andresen when he visited the U.K. in July. This is a must-listen interview, succinctly summing up the current state of Family Law in the U.K. and the challenges that lie ahead.
The civil rights group Fathers 4 Justice (F4J) was founded in December 2002 by Matt O'Connor after he experienced first hand the injustices of the secret family courts as he struggled to see his two boys Daniel and Alexander after a traumatic divorce. Started as a vehicle for social change, F4J quickly became the high-wire act of protest groups, whether powder-bombing the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, scaling the balcony at Buckingham Palace in a Batman Costume, invading the Pulpit at York Minster during a General Synod Service or taking the National Lottery Draw live off air on BBC1 in front of ten million viewers.
But behind the headlines and dramatic protests is a new creed for family law enshrined in their documents "Family Justice On Trial Opening The Door On Closed Courts" and "Blueprint For Family Law In The 21st Century." These pioneering, ideas-led documents set out radical and visionary frameworks for a fair, just, open and equitable system of family law.
F4J campaigns not just in the name of the father, but in the name of all parents, grandparents and children seeking equality in family law. The achievements of F4J to date are best described by the Times Newspaper who in January 2006 wrote:
"F4J caught the spirit of the times: they reflected the zeitgeist, and they changed it...for all the flaws within F4J, the issue of fatherhood has a currency that would have been unimaginable three years ago...when historians look back on British Society at the start of the third millennium, they will accord a small but important chapter to the men in tights."
In just a few years Fathers 4 Justice has not only effected "climate change", but it has also succeeded in discrediting the secret courts and undermining public confidence in them. The result has been to force the government to advance proposals to open up the secret family courts to greater scrutiny and propose tougher enforcement of contact orders.
The Equal Parenting Alliance is a new UK political party, formed in February 2006. They aim to promote a system of family justice in the UK that puts the needs and interests of children first. They think the family justice system should respect the right of children to normal parenting by their two parents above the rights or wishes of either of their parents alone. The current system does not do this. To give the most obvious illustration of this, it allows one parent to easily eliminate the other parent from a child's life, if they wish. They believe this is fundamentally wrong and bad for children. They will lobby until family law is changed to operate fairly and for the benefit of children.
ABOUT DADS ON THE AIR
The Dads On The Air website is http://www.dadsontheair.net.
Dads On The Air is the most successful community radio program in Australia. It is archived by the National Library of Australia and for researchers represents the most extensive collection of information on the push for family law and child support reform in Australia. It also documents the history of the fatherhood movement in Australia and internationally and provides a fascinating insight into mainstream society's shifting attitudes towards fathers and fatherhood.
The program began with a small group of disgruntled separated men in August 2000, and has since gone on to attract a team of people with extensive journalistic, entertainment, academic and internet experience.
Dads On The Air is registered as a not-for-profit group with the NSW Department of Fair Trading. The show played a pivotal role in the debate over family law reform, acting as a conduit for groups and individuals who could not get their voices heard in the mainstream media. As the years have passed Dads On The Air has widened its focus to cover broader social issues concerning parenthood and gender issues and to promote a positive view of fathers and fatherhood.
The program has attracted leading politicians, authors and lobbyists from both Australia and around the world.
Guests have included the Attorney General Phillip Ruddock, Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia Diana Bryant, head of the family law inquiry Kay Hull, head of the Australian Child Support Agency Matt Miller, author of The Myth of Male Power Warren Farrell, UK writer and academic Barry Warrell of Without Authority fame, outspoken academic Stephen Baskerville, researchers from the University of Western Sydney Michael Woods and John MacDonald, and lobbyists including founder of Fathers4Justice Matt O'Connor, Sue Price from the Men's Rights Agency, Warwick Marsh from the Fatherhood Foundation, John Flanagan from the Non-Custodial Parents Party, Barry Williams from Lone Fathers, Yuri Joakimidis from the Joint Parenting Association and Mark Bourne aka Traks from the Richard Hillman Foundation.
International commentators and broadcasters including Richar' Farr from KRights Radio and renowned columnist and broadcaster Glen Sacks have also graced our airwaves.
Other guests have included founder of the world's first women's refuge Erin Pizzey, author of the book What Men Don't Talk About Maggie Hamilton, leading expert on parental alienation and author of Parental Alienation Syndrome Dr Ludwig Lowenstein, Senior Researcher for Kids Help Line Ian Thomas, NZ expert on boy's education and author of He'll Be OK Celia Lashlie, author of The Ties That Bind: The Cult of Parenthood Amy JL Baker, author of Shared Parenting and Fathers After Divorce Michael Green, head of Adelaide's School of Medicine Professor Gary Wittert, former and current heads of the Shared Parenting Council of Australia Geoffrey Greene, Ed Dabrowski and Warwick Marsh, head of Dads In Distress Tony Miller, Daniel Donahoo author of Idolising Children, academic researcher on the devastating social impacts of the Child Support Agency Christine Cole and former head of the Australian Labor Party Mark Latham.
Others have included father of an alleged terrorist Terry Hicks, 2006 Australian Father of the Year Ron Delezio, Cheryl King, wife of Liam Magill, who ran a famous Australian case against the Child Support Agency after discovering children he was paying child support for were not biologically his, Di Underwood from Grandparents Rights, Terry Melvin from Mensline, Teri Stoddard from the US organisation Shared Parenting Works, Sanford Braver, author of Separated Dads: Shattering the Myths, outspoken maverick Liberal MP Alby Schultz, supporter of shared parenting Senator Steve Fielding, now deceased supporter of social justice for fathers Senator Jeannie Ferris and also deceased and much loved activist Lionel Richards.
Still other guests have included renowned Australian entertainer Andrew Denton, who has established a writer's grant in his father's name The Kit Denton Fellowship; Geoffrey Atherden, former President of the Australian Writer's Guild, Adrienne Burgess, author of Fatherhood Reclaimed; John Baker from the UK group Families Need Fathers; disabled father jailed twice by the CSA Des Cochoran; Professor Ian Hickie, head of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the UNSW; Graeme Cowan, author of book on depression Back From The Brink; outspoken critic of Australia's family law system Ann Bressington MLC from the South Australian Parliament; Di Underwood from Grandparents Rights; motivational speaker and US fatherhood guru Brian Molitor; Dr Amy J Baker, author of the world's first study on adult victims of parental alienation and Dr Christina Hoff Summers, author of The War Against Boys and Who Stole Feminism?
Press releases, public notices and other material for broadcast can be sent to contact@dadsontheair.net.
The studio for Dads On The Air is located at the offices of 2GLF in Liverpool in western Sydney. The station 2GLF is one of the oldest community radio stations in Australia. It was amongst the first tranche of four community radio stations that were established by Gough Whitlam during the 1970s, a time of great social ferment and change in Australia. From the establishment of the first four there are now more than 130 community radio stations around Australia, a unique opportunity for local people to have their say and in international terms a rare instance of democracy at work.
Dads On The Air can be heard on Tuesday mornings 11.00-12.00 at 2GLF FM 89.3 in Sydney Australia and depending on the quality of your radio can be heard from the mountains in the west to the coast in the east. While they're not all listening, it has a footprint of more than two million people across the demographic heart of Australia's most populous city. The show is usually up on the website within 24 hours of broadcast in an easily downloadable MP3 format and as a podcast. It can also be heard via live streaming at http://www.893fm.com.au
An entertaining mix of music, news, public information and wide ranging interviews aimed at fathers and those who care about them, the show covers issues concerning fatherhood, the Family Court, the Child Support Agency, Legal Aid, child welfare, boys education, male suicide, men's health, gender bias and other father, children and family related issues.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The DOTA team, all of whom have volunteered hundreds of hours to the program, consists of:
John Stapleton, program director
Peter van de Voorde, co-presenter, administrator, researcher and music programmer
Ian Purdie, co-presenter, panel operator, music programmer
Lindsay Jackel, information and news sourcing and web site support
Greg Andresen, researcher and co-presenter.
DOTA would not be the success it is today without the participation and contributions of countless people. In particular we would like to thank Ruth Morrison, station manager for 2GLF, without who's support and guidance we would not be where we are today, Ian Becker, director of morning programming for 2GLF, who's technical assistance has been invaluable, Carol North-Samardzic, who's decency, technical assistance and patience in teaching us all the ropes has been of enormous assistance, David Burn aka Smiley, who has helped create some of the original music for the show, Bruce Scheider and Tyson Ware, two stalwarts, who's support and technical expertise, has often saved the day, and Jeremy Horton, who created our new website http://www.dadsontheair.net.
As well, DOTA would also not have become the most successful community radio program in Australia today without the support of numerous figures in the lobby groups around the country, including in particular Sue Price from the Men's Rights Agency, Warwick Marsh from the Fatherhood Foundation, John Flanagan from the Non-Custodial Parents Party and James Adams from Fathers4Equality.
Like all community efforts, over the years many people have come along to play their part; and without their timely efforts DOTA would never have survived. These people include the legendary Uncle Buck aka Rick Torning, creator of our first web site Glen Burns, recorder of the program and active forum participant for many years Mike Taylor, regular on-air voice for quite some time Ray Lentham and the wonderfully high-spirited former president of Dads Australia Rod Hardwick. Many individuals, including the ever-prolific Ross Mitchell from the NSW Central Coast and the good-hearted Brian Mahoney aka Bom Bom from Gosford, have also been foundation stones for our forums.