Julian Leeser joins fight to help mother of daughter taken under international law

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser is trying to support a woman who had her daughter taken from her and flown to her allegedly abusive ­father in Europe.

The Sydney mother and her two-year-old daughter.

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser says he is doing everything he can to support a woman who had her two-year-old daughter taken from her and flown to her allegedly abusive ­father in Europe under an international law, and has described the situation as “heartbreaking”.

The Australian reported last week that the Sydney mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would spend Christmas without her child after years of battling a Hague Convention order in the courts.

The Hague Convention was created in the 1980s to allow for the expeditious return of a child when taken to another country by one parent without the consent of the other.

However, legal experts in recent years described the convention as “a good law gone bad” in that it was increasingly being used by abusive partners against women fleeing domestic violence with their children.

Labor earlier this year changed laws to ensure courts took domestic violence into account when the treaty was invoked, but the Sydney mother said her claims of domestic violence against her former husband were ignored and her daughter was sent to be with him in Europe – where she was born almost three years ago.

“I’ve never seen her sob like I saw her sob when she was taken,” the mother, who is Indigenous, told The Australian.

“The hardest thing was she was looking to me for help, and there was nothing I could do.

“She was so clear, she just said ‘I want my mummy’.”

Mr Leeser, who has been speaking out about the need to change The Hague Convention for more than a year, said his ­office was in contact with the ­Sydney mother.

“My electoral office has been providing advice and support to the mother for some time,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“This is a terrible time of year to be separated from your child. It’s just heartbreaking. Given the understandable distress, my office will do what it can to help the mother access the advice and ­services she may need.”

Ahead of the government’s law changes to give the risk of domestic violence more weight in Hague cases, the Coalition made a review of the treaty part of its ­official party platform.

“I have been active in supporting mothers wanting our laws to be updated … and I’m pleased the Attorney-General responded as he did,” Mr Leeser said.

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser. Picture: (AAP Image/Joel Carrett

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus refused to comment on the matter on Friday, while Anthony Albanese said the government would not weigh in on any individual case.

“We don’t comment on individual cases regarding family law,” the Prime Minister told the ABC on Thursday.

“That has been a long standing practice.

“We have changed, through legislation, the law so that courts can and should take into account issues like domestic violence and other issues when considering what is best for a child.”

The Sydney mother said she would explore further legal options, but was worried for her safety in travelling to Europe.

“The cruelty is all of this happening over the Christmas period, while solicitors are on holidays,” she said. “I am grateful for everything Julian (Leeser) has done – he’s been active and practical in his help.”

She pleaded for Labor to intervene and help her to get her daughter back.

Currently, the custody of the woman’s daughter, who she has since spoken to over Facetime, has been left for courts in Europe to decide.