Tuesday, September 3, 2002

A story published today by the West Australian reports that Family Court Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson said yesterday that the soaring divorce rate in Australia was "not necessarily such a bad thing" and the Federal Government should be wary of coercing married couples to stay together.

The Chief Justice said there was no problem with the Federal Government setting up programs to keep families intact.

But he questioned the recent hand- wringing from politicians about higher divorce rates and warned against nurturing violent relationships.

"I think it's not necessarily a bad thing that there's been an increase in the break-up of unsatisfactory relationships. I think the old picture was you were locked into them," he said.

"Is it the state's cause for concern that people who regard their relationship as unworkable should break up? You could have arguments both ways about that." he added.

He said women's increased independence also meant they were now less likely to stick with unhappy relationships.

Last year, 55,300 Australian couples divorced - 11 percent more than in 2000 and the highest figure since 1976, when no-fault divorce took effect - and more than one in five families with children under 15 were headed by a sole parent.