Well, wot say ye...do you prefer the 1959 method of dealing with divorce or the 1975 version.

I recall my days as an Articled Clerk loving the photos the private detectives took of the act of adultery.

Here ya go Herbert.....unleash that beast!

No-one. 

Okay, maybe I need to explain.  In 1975 when Whitlam (as advised by some bloke called Watson if memory serves) repealed the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1959....to get a divorce all you needed to say was that the marriage had broken down irretrievably, and the way you established that was to prove 12 months of separation.

Do that, and the entire former family fabric was nuked, and the financial outcomes were entirely different to what they would have been under the 1959 Legislation which pretty much meant that if you screwed up...............you got screwed financially and as a parent.

No fault as opposed to fault.....and the person in default lost everything.

Ahh finally a topic on Oz Pol worth posting in.


The Matrimonial Causes Act proved to be a nightmare for both parents and children. It aggravated and prolonged the agony of the divorce, custody and settlement process.

The no fault divorce option of today is by no means perfect, but it's far easier and faster than its predecessor.

Lisa Jones wrote on Mar 1^st, 2014 at 8:19pm:

Ahh finally a topic on Oz Pol worth posting in.

I can see it was a real hit .... we should have more topics like this!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

John Smith wrote on Mar 2^nd, 2014 at 10:05am:

Lisa Jones wrote on Mar 1st, 2014 at 8:19pm: Ahh finally a topic on Oz Pol worth posting in. I can see it was a real hit .... we should have more topics like this!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Don't expect many here would have been divorced under the Matrimonial Causes Act ????  I only have direct experience with the Family Law Act so couldn't really compare.

John Smith wrote on Mar 2^nd, 2014 at 10:05am:

Lisa Jones wrote on Mar 1st, 2014 at 8:19pm: Ahh finally a topic on Oz Pol worth posting in. I can see it was a real hit .... we should have more topics like this!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

It's hard for good topics like this to be seen let alone be posted in, given the many topics on offer which are filled with posters barging in only to denigrate and abuse others.

That was my point.

Lisa Jones wrote on Mar 1^st, 2014 at 8:19pm:

Ahh finally a topic on Oz Pol worth posting in. The Matrimonial Causes Act proved to be a nightmare for both parents and children. It aggravated and prolonged the agony of the divorce, custody and settlement process. The no fault divorce option of today is by no means perfect, but it's far easier and faster than its predecessor.

Which is a big part of the problem.

Yes the divorce is easy, but 9 times out of 10 they don't count on how damaging the settlement process will be. Not only to themselves, but to the welfare of any children involved.

Unnatural laws, unnatural people, unnatural nation. Lives of misery.