Annual report [1997-98] - Family Court of Australia

The Family Court of Australia – annual report 1997-98
body. Of the many achievements of his presidency, the 2nd Asia Pacific Courts Conference
held in Sydney last year was his crowning success.
Deputy Chief Justice Barblett
Although he retired after the conclusion of the period in review, I wish to record my gratitude
here to the Deputy Chief Justice, Alan Barblett, for the tremendous service to me over
the past 10 years, and to the Court generally since its inception. Justice Barblett’s connection
to the Family Courts of Australia and of Western Australia dates to the period before their
establishment; indeed it began in the early 1970’s when the concept of a specialist Family
Court was first hotly debated. His knowledge therefore goes beyond the technical aspects of
the legislation and the Court and incorporates its history, and indeed raison d’etre.
As Deputy Chief Justice Alan Barblett has been a source of infinite wisdom and common
sense. His widespread knowledge of family law matters was always matched by great
attention to detail and he had the ability to reach to the heart of an issue. He was tireless in
his attention to his workload and managed the numerous trips across the Nullarbor with
seeming ease and constant good humour. The Court is fortunate that he has agreed to
restrict his new-found freedom in retirement by continuing to chair the Trial Management
Committee and to assist with a number of other projects.
General acknowledgments
I wish to record my sincere thanks to the judges and staff for their tireless commitment to
the Court and its operations. It is not unusual to hear public statements about the importance
and difficulty of the Family Court’s jurisdiction, but rarely is this matched with a true
recognition of the importance of ‘getting it right’ when it comes to the management and
resolution of family-related disputes.
The greatest responsibility for the Court’s operations of necessity falls upon my shoulders
and those of the Deputy Chief Justice, the Judge Administrators and the members of the
senior management team. I would like to acknowledge and thank Deputy Chief Justice
Barblett, Justices Frederico and Buckley, Mr Len Glare, Ms Angela Filippello, Dr Carole
Brown, Mr Bruce Frankland, Mr Ron Eather and Mr Andrew Phelan for their hard work,
their loyalty and their support throughout what has been a difficult and demanding year.
There are also many staff whose contributions to the Court are less visible and yet without
whom the services we provide could not be maintained. These staff are in capital cities and
provincial centres and many have been with us for a considerable period of time.
The emotional toll taken by family breakdown, the relentless nature of the work and the
impacts our decisions have on women, men and children provide an environment of constant
pressure on everyone associated with the Court. The impacts these have on all
involved have become more apparent recently with the involvement of a large proportion
of judges and staff in the strategic planning exercises upon which the Court has embarked.
I hope that these will help the Court in facing the additional challenges which the next millennium
will obviously provide.
Finally, I would like to record my thanks to my personal staff for their continued support
throughout the year, as always. Fortunately they bring to the many and varied tasks I delegate
to them a combination of considerable skill, enthusiasm and good humour, all of
which I greatly appreciate.
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