It is being presented by Sherele Moody, who started the Change.org petition and is the founder of the RED HEART campaign, and Bianca Unwin, whose sister Katie Haley was murdered by her partner of four years in Melbourne last year.
The petition reads:
“Senator Pauline Hanson is so fundamentally compromised, that she should immediately recuse herself or be removed from the inquiry. The dealings of her own son with the Family Court and DV orders, and her using them as motivation to push for an inquiry, mean that there is clear apprehended bias on her part.
She has also put her bias on Parliamentary record, making demonstrably untrue claims under Parliamentary privilege. It should be noted that her son pleaded guilty to breaching a DV order. She has shown that she will be unable to participate in this inquiry in a fair or impartial manner. In any judicial or investigatory role, such a conflict of interest would be untenable. It is clear that Senator Hanson is too emotionally and personally invested in Family Court procedures and ought not have any role in a Family Court Inquiry.”
Senator Waters is seeking permission to table the petition in the Senate this afternoon.
“The Greens support calls from the more than 70,000 people from across Australia who have signed this petition recognising Pauline Hanson is compromised and should be removed from the parliamentary inquiry into the family law system,” Senator Waters said in a statement.
“Australia’s family law system has serious problems which need addressing, however this inquiry is politically motivated and should not go ahead.
“This toxic inquiry is unsafe for women and children. The establishment of the inquiry has already unleashed a torrent of victim-shaming and blaming women.
“The Government should not be subjecting women who have experienced domestic violence and abuse to further trauma when the evidence is already available on the type of changes needed for improving the family court system.”
“The Government has yet to implement the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission review of the family law system. It should prioritise evidence-based strategies to make family law safer for victims and survivors of family violence, not allowing this compromised inquiry to go ahead.”