Bid to ease blackout on custody cases

PROMINENT journalists are starring in YouTube videos calling on the federal Government to change the law regarding the identification of children involved in Family Court proceedings.

PROMINENT journalists are starring in YouTube videos calling on the federal Government to change the law regarding the identification of children involved in Family Court proceedings.

The law states that children who are injured or killed cannot be named or identified with photographs if they were involved in a custody case before the Family Court.

It means cases in which either parent kills their children in a custody dispute, as has happened several times in the past 12 months, cannot be reported.

The law also prevents adults from speaking about their experience of the Family Court, including children once they are grown up, and it prevents parents whose children have been killed from talking about their experience.

Ross Coulthard, a Walkley Award-winning reporter from the Seven Network's Sunday Night program, and three other journalists agreed to make the YouTube videos as part of a wider campaign to open the Family Court to scrutiny.

There are concerns, especially among women's groups, that the court processes are veiled in secrecy. In some cases, the court gives permission for one party to speak, but not the other. This happened in the case of Ken Thompson, assistant NSW fire chief, whose former wife abducted their son and fled Australia. He has given his version of events, with the court's permission. She is forbidden from discussing the case.

In his video, Coulthard says there are "good reasons for making sure children are protected in proceedings before the Family Court". But, he adds, "there are issues that should be scrutinised by the media that aren't. Where children are hurt as a consequence of a bad Family Court decision, I think the public have a right to know."

The videos have been uploaded alongside videos of child protection workers talking about the rights of children in Family Court hearings.

Women involved in the campaign will rally in all capital cities tomorrow.

Graham Archer, producer of Today Tonight in Adelaide, says: "There are suppression orders which are there for good reason." But, he adds, "they act as a veil over the conduct and procedures of the court. All human institution fail, including our courts."

Megan Norris, a writer for women's magazines who has written about custody issues, says: "We understand there has to be strict confidentiality (but) there are exceptions (where) our lawyers should be able to argue that these are areas of great public concern."