A young First Nations woman is fighting to keep her daughter in Australia after a court ordered she be returned to her father, who the woman has previously accused of being abusive.
Advocate Janine Hendry, who was approached by the woman for help, told National Indigenous Times that the woman was subsequently returned to Europe.
“She was seven months pregnant when she went… She had the child in Europe and got her Australian citizenship and a passport.”
Ms Hendry said the man was allegedly violent and abusive before the mother and her child were able to leave for Australia in 2020.
The father then applied under the Hague Convention, an international law instrument designed to stop child abductions, to have the girl returned.
While the man is subject to a provisional Apprehended Domestic Violence Order, Ms Hendry said that under the Convention domestic violence is not recognised as a reason to not return a child to a parent.
“In the last two weeks the Attorney General (Mark Dreyfus) put in place laws in Australia that mean courts in Australia can, not must, consider domestic violence as a reason not to repatriate children, but it won’t be retrospective,” she said.
While the man is subject to a provisional Apprehended Domestic Violence Order, Ms Hendry said that under the Convention domestic violence is not recognised as a reason to not return a child to a parent.
“In the last two weeks the Attorney General (Mark Dreyfus) put in place laws in Australia that mean courts in Australia can, not must, consider domestic violence as a reason not to repatriate children, but it won’t be retrospective,” she said.
Source: Indigenous child faces extradition to allegedly abu… | NIT