Counsel of Perfection

Since its inception in 1976 - immediately after the collapse of the Labour Government that created it - the Family Court of Australia has become one of Australia's most controversial public institutions. The formation of the Family Court, largely the work of Attorney General (and later High Court Judge) Lionel Murphy, represented a major change in emphasis from traditional common law methods of dealing with family law matters. Nowadays, after 20 years of the legislation, divorce affects almost every member of society - not only those who go through the process, but also their relatives and friends. The increasing commonness of divorce (one in three marriages now end in divorce) - and the role of the Family Court in fostering public acceptance of divorce represent two fundamental social departures in modern Australia.