Good day,

Once again. I would like to state that I take responsibility for the wrong choices I have made in life. I admit that I made the mistake. I do not blame the Authorities for doing their job.

My kids go to a good school, get the best looking after. I am not complaining about being a single mother and being all alone, because this is my decision. I enjoy every single day with my kids. I feel like the luckiest person alive. Please understand that I started this discussion to get different views on the subject. I know and admit to my mistakes and wrong doings in life. I am responsible for my children and me. I am not perfect, and will learn well from this experience.

Thank you so much everyone who has shared their experiences and knowledge.

I’m not so sure that you’ve made a mistake Jinny. And even if you have, I’m strongly inclined to think that it should not be the role of Big Brother to cop you for it, in this instance.

As I’ve alluded to previously, a major problem here is that the law is not well enough advertised.

If we are going to have laws that people are not even likely to think about - that is; not even think of the possibility of them existing, then these laws need to be shoved down our throats.

It is just ENTIRELY INAPPROPRIATE for laws to exist that anything more than the tiniest fraction of people could inadvertently infringe.

A fundamental part of our legal system has surely got to be adequate informing of the public. It is NOT sufficient to put the onus on people to inform themselves.

Secondly, the police and presumably relevant departmental officers have enormous discretionary powers. They should NOT charge anyone with an offence such as the one that you have come up against unless there has been an obvious negative outcome for the children involved, or there was a very high risk of it, AND the offender was acting knowingly unlawfully. A warning would surely have sufficed in this particular case.

In other words, no law-enforcement officer should take action simply because a law has been infringed, regardless of the consequences or lack thereof. Unfortunately, we cannot rely on our law-enforcement officers to behave properly in this regard.

continued

We can also not have any faith that a magistrate will look past the fact that a person has been charged. With minor matters, magistrates all too often take the view that the work has been done by the officers involved as to whether a person should be charged. They think that the officers have basically made a judgement of innocence or guilt and have found the person guilty or else they wouldn’t have charged them.

And unfortunately, officers take the view that they should charge a person if a legal offence has occurred, regardless of the circumstances, and that the magistrate will sort out the details and fine the person accordingly.

This is a major problem with our legal system, at least with minor matters, which a magistrate is inclined to deal with very quickly and superficially.

So, it is very easy for a person to inadvertently infringe the law, do so in a totally benign manner, and still find themselves in the poo, with a big fine, a record, a sh!tload of stress and embarrassment and a badly tarnished reputation in the eyes of everyone who knows them…. and a critically damaged respect for the law and authorities.

Again, a warning would surely have sufficed in this instance.

Dear Ludwig,

Thank you for your views. I will not deny that this is not my mistake. It is. It is because I should have looked more into and and not believed what was out there on the internet. I should have considered all the risk that were involve before taking action. How this happened was because I cannot rest until I have achieved everything I have set out to do in a day. My last job was getting to an internet cafe, and finishing up what I had to do. MY MISTAKE!

I have been advised to plead guilty for this offence which I have been charged with when I appear in court. Of course they are so considerate they would arrange the hearing at the same time I need to send the kids to school at:). I really can't complain, because it will make it more challenging for me. Good learning experience, makes me grow as a person. Will make me a better mother.

Unfortunately there's no such thing as ignorance of the law. There are offences, and intent. Generally if you have 'innocent intent' then you have a defence. I believe child services can be REAL ... ummm ... harsh, let's say. That department is broken. We'll all agree on that.

There's a couple of comments about the law being advertised ... REALLY? ... any idea how many laws there actually are?. Where would people like them advertised?. IF you're really that concerned about your rights and obligations, do some research.

I noticed the word 'refugee' in one of your comments, Jinny. I think the vast majority of sane Australians believe that the duty of care the government owes refugees - once accepted as a legal refugee - is vastly more than they currently deliver. Obviously they can't get you up to speed - depending on where you come from - due to social education being taught from when you're a baby. There's just too much to learn. Basic understanding of laws and moral expectations should be a given though.

"I have been advised to plead guilty for this offence..."

Yeah, smelling a rat too now. Anybody advising you of this - if indeed someone did - isn't in your corner. You get legal representation for free at court. I advise you take that opportunity. Before you get there, write down EVERYTHING that is your intention and beliefs regarding the safety and well being of your kids. Plead guilty?. I would NEVER do that in regards to an offence against your kids.