For a long time, I have been concerned that too often the familycaught$ uses trial by fire, for deciding cases.

As you read the examples that I have listed below, possibly other examples will come to your mind? If so, please add a comment, giving little more than the essential details to show the nature of the real issues and the way that the familycaught$/CYFs used inappropriate pressure or irrelevant issues, to decide the case. If you wish to supply more detailed information, please contact me personally and supply that privately.

Don’t put identifiable information into these public comments, unless that is acceptable to everyone involved, which usually will NOT be the case.

It is important that the nature of these stories is easily publicly available and also that when politicians ask for more details, that they can be efficiently and accurately supplied. The objective is to drive constructive change.

One example is a married couple having all of their children removed, with no proper warning, so that a house goes from noisy, family kaos, to deadly silence in under 10 minutes. Then they are left to pull themselves together and face off CYFs in familycaught$. As if this isn’t enough to challenge even most good parents, as they finally walk into the familycaught$ room, the CYFs social walker hands them an affidavit, that should have been served on them at least 3 weeks prior to the hearing. They are left to read this additional material, while listening to the judge starting up the proceedings… They were at caught for half an hour before the doors opened, so too was the social walker. But the papers weren’t handed over as early as possible, they were deliberately withheld, to obtain maximum destructive stress. There is an intense feeling of games going on, that are not relevant to bringing out the truth about the quality of upbringing that the children have been receiving…..

A somewhat similar scenario impacts many married fathers. They get served a Protection Order while at work, signed by their wife. What? They ring home, to get disconnected tone. They drive straight home, to find a largely empty house, with the door swinging open….

… during a DV hearing, the policeman witness embellishes his story by adding “facts”, not disclosed in earlier affidavits.. The accused reacts in anger, to the clear official perjury. The expression of anger persuaded the judge to throw the book and convict, despite the police photographs showing that nothing more serious than a technical assault could have taken place. But that didn’t show that the accused caused the non-bruises, if they were bruises at all? In several such situations, I have seen fathers say that if the familycaught$ wants to treat them like that, they will walk away and have nothing to do with their children. In some ways, I don’t blame them. However, I have also seen long term consequences for these children. I don’t see any value in familycaught$ playing such games with parents, it serves neither children, nor parents, in the long run.

There is an idea that justice should serve corrections or punishments that are appropriate, proportional and relevant to the original offence.

A further example: New Zealander Paul Jenkins felt so helpless, he killed himself. The 39-year-old died in Geelong after receiving a $53,000 bill from Australian Child Support Services.

I have laughed off such stories, but now I have seen the long term impacts on so many people, I would like to aim for constructive action….