In 2003 the then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard announced an inquiry into family law and joint custody, otherwise known as shared parenting, Family law was the country's single most controversial area of law. It was also the layperson's most common point of interaction with the legal and judicial system. The Family Court had been a source of individual pain and public controversy since its foundation in 1975. The announcement received front page coverage and delighted of father's groups nationwide. The Prime Minister declared that he was drawn to the notion of shared parenting, an issue on which the previously marginalized, disenfranchised and often ridiculed fathers' groups had been campaigning on for years. The reform of family law was a tipping point issue. with an increasingly large body of disgruntled litigants and disenfranchised fathers, Australia's politicians faced a significant degree of discontent, anger and outrage from their constituents. 90 pages 26,000 words.
