Cops given power to tap parents who are suspected of abducting their kids
PARENTS who take their children and skip the country will now face jail time — and Australian police will be given new powers to hunt them down overseas, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
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PARENTS who take their children and skip the country will now face as much as three years in jail — and Australian police will have new powers to hunt them down overseas.
Until now, it has not been a crime for a parent to leave the country with their children for longer than was agreed with their ex-partner.
But, by criminalising international parental child abduction, the Australian Federal Police can now work with international agency Interpol to track down parents and their Australian children.
If charges are laid, Australian police can seek extradition, which was never before possible.
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Under the new laws, which apply from early next year, the AFP will be able to access emails and text messages of parents suspected of international parental abduction.
However, parents who flee with their children to escape domestic violence will have a defence against any charges.
“Parental child abduction is traumatic for children and the parent who has lost access to their child or children,” Attorney-General Christian Porter said.
“Criminalising the unauthorised retention of children overseas will provide a strong deterrent against this behaviour and provide a further tool for law enforcement to pursue and prosecute offenders.”
Last financial year, 80 Australian parents sought the return of 143 allegedly abducted children taken overseas.
Of those 143 kids, more than 36 per cent were taken to New Zealand and 17.5 per cent were taken to either the United Kingdom or United States of America.
Over the same period, 47 foreign parents sought the return of 162 allegedly abducted children who had been brought to Australia.
Australia has seen some very high profile cases of child abduction.
These include Hannah and Cedar Engdahl, who were snatched back by mother Melissa from their Australian father who had taken them to Lebanon — a story that was a front page exclusive in The Sunday Telegraph in 2007.
More recently Sally Faulkner attempted to get her children back, also from Lebanon, although that failure led to the temporary imprisonment of a Channel 9 crew and reporter Tara Brown.
International parental child abduction is the “ultimate theft” and worthy of criminal punishment, according to former Family Court judge Nahum Mushin.
“Unilaterally removing a child is very serious and, as such, making it a criminal offence is justifiable,” Mr Mushin said.
However, Mr Mushin was sceptical whether all parents would be deterred by even the prospect of three years behind bars.
“I did many of these sorts of cases when I was on the bench, where when the issue of deterrent arises, they have said they couldn’t care less,” he said.
He also cautioned against imprisoning the “primary parent” who looks after the child, for the sole purpose of punishment, as it could have unintended consequences for the child’s mental health.
But extradition powers are a big win for Australian parents in tug-of-love cases, which would otherwise do battle in foreign courts where the abductor has an unfair advantage, according to Mr Mushin.