One thing is for sure from reading the comments on this thread is that we really have to rethink the whole marriage commitment exercise. Make it much harder for people to marry and maybe a cooling off period before you have kids. Trouble is you can't play big brother in this, but surely it can't be worse than what we have today.

I am kidding about the regulation bit - hopefully humans will just be able to work this out themselves.

The hatred and bitterness just oozes from those who have been through the system. The system could be better and is slowly changing to include fathers more in their children's lives in the case of marriage breakdown.

Are we are going backwards in the evolutionary process - I thought we were moving to be more civilised.

Yes you are so right Pelican, the bitterness and hatred does ooze from the very pores of those men who have had the misfortune to go through the family court system and obviously feel they are hard done by.
We are only reading one side of their story though, so I don't give much credence to their nasty words.

I note though that none of them have actually come up with a really workable solution to make the children of warring parents have a better chance of a good relationship with both their parents?

Maximum - " The Pied Piper why are you here? All you have to do is bash the comments that people have"
Pot calling the kettle black?

RossM- "There are some huge problems in society today, a large part of that must be accredited to fatherlessness"
How true. Deadbeat men who are happy to sleep with and impregnate women, then leave them holding the baby is very common.

Formersnag- "...i never said anything, negative about gay men, merely, that one, of the reasons, many men, have been becoming gay over the last 40 years or so is the obvious, brain washing, (from birth), that the femanazis have inflicted, on everybody, about their, negative opinion, of manhood, and everything it stands for."

You really believe men are 'turned into being gay by feminists"?
So these guys decide to have sex with other men as a 'choice' rather than sleep with the dreadful women?
Homosexuals are BORN that way, regardless of who their parents are or how they are brought up,and that is a proven scientific fact.

suzeonline:"We are only reading one side of their story though, so I don't give much credence to their nasty words."

So next time a woman starts in with "I'm a victim, cos I say I am, besides all Menz are bastards and I'm a single mum, did I mention all Menz are bastards, cos they are" no doubt you'll be making a similar comment about one-sided stories?

The main reason I got interested in this whole subject was my experience of the one-sided nature of the State-managed separation/divorce process. At almost every step there is assistance available to mothers and a brick wall for fathers, especially fathers who work. She has only to make a statement including any word or phrase saying she "feels" scared or apprehensive and with no further ado, he will be facing a DVO - no questions asked. Talk about "credence to nasty words"...

The men whose posts I've read here are all saying a similar thing, yet all the ignoranti and mindless Thought Police who infest this site can do is try to somehow discredit their stories because they're new members. It's standard, mindless procedure for the Pomeranian, of course - never an original thought in his life, but I'm a little surprised at you jumping in.

The Fathers' Rights movement has arisen out of the terrible experience that many men have gone through following marital breakdown. It is a response to the perception of many women that the children are "theirs" and Dad is at best a meal-ticket, which has spawned a stack of pseudo-research by "academics" who have in common the fact that they're single mothers whose kids don't see their dads, such as Elspeth McInnes, et al.

It is not "anti women" it is "pro fathers". If you were to ask, I'm sure that most of the new posters here would say "she's the ex from hell, but the kids love her". Certainly that is my own view and I'd not interfere with that love, but if she gets between me and the kids, I'll fight every time.

suzeonline:"I note though that none of them have actually come up with a really workable solution to make the children of warring parents have a better chance of a good relationship with both their parents?"

Yep, I have - get rid of the CSA from the picture. It's not easy and it can't work as long as there is a requirement by the State for the parents to go to war with each other if one of them seeks a State benefit.

The biggest single cause of post-divorce parental conflict, I suspect, is Centrelink and the CSA, since even if there is no significant underlying conflict, they create it as a natural consequence of their actions.

When either party is aggrieved by their actions they hold their hands up and say "but it's not us, we're just doing what the law requires", as though that makes it all OK, while at the same time they're issuing Garnishment orders on bank accounts, employers, tax refunds, even business clients if they can find out who they are.

If a mother wants to stoke the fires, all she has to do is ask for a "change of assessment", which will give the father about a month of heartache searching for documentation to disprove her casually-made claims and then having to attend a meeting with someone like the dishonest Judith Williams and in the end, the chances are she'll be given a bit extra anyway. If the father complains, he will be asked by the CSA "don't you care about your children" followed by the inevitable S 72 notice to his employer to take another few dollars out of his wage and send it to the CSA. Who cares if he can't pay the rent or buy food for the kids on the 2 days a fortnight the State deems he's able to have "contact"? "We're just doing what the Law requires".

The Nuremberg trials established that "following orders" is not an excuse for poor behaviour. It's a shame that post-war Germany was a more just place than 21st Century Australia.

suzieonline "How true. Deadbeat men who are happy to sleep with and impregnate women, then leave them holding the baby is very common

I volunteer with a fathers support/suicide prevention group, hate to burst your balloon but it takes two to tango, and the majority of separations are instigated by the female. My ex wife walked out after forming another relationship, 9 years on and never spent a day in court, and have my 15 year old daughter living full time with me, due to a personality clash with mum. a large majority of these so called deadbeats are forced out of the childrens lives, walk a mile Suzie.

What do you say to a bloke whos ex walked out, left him with a 3 month old child, and 3 years down the track asks for 2 weeks with the child, 20 weeks later and no child, no urgent court return of the child, no child abduction notifications state wide etc etc

8 out of every 10 HAGUE cases at FCA website is a child abducted by a mother. dont beleive me, look for yourself!

CJ Morgan godbotherer? misogynist? DISHONEST?? getting pretty close to slander there. Where is your factual data like I have presented? what is it we are supposed to fess up for?

Antiseptic is correct, because the case I quoted above, the mother only asked for visitation after the father was told by Centrelink FAO that he had to be claiming CS for the child, guess who is claiming it now? remove the financial incentive. remove the gender bias lies. remove the lawyers.

Ross M - I wasn't referring to you. I was talking to the rash (15+ now) of new users who've signed up in order to comment on this article specifically. It's hardly coincidental, is it? One newbie claims to have come across the article via a google search - fair enough, but what about the other 14 who've never posted at OLO before and who unanimously and obsequiously praise Marsh's lightweight and disingenuous article.

I just want people to be honest with each other. As I've said, by all means celebrate fathers and fatherhood - but there's no need to appear to be sneaky and disingenuous about it.

In fact, such behaviour damages your cause rather than furthers it, in my opinion.