Darcey's death prompts court review

The head of Australia's Family Court says relatives of the young girl thrown from
Melbourne's West Gate Bridge did not take their concerns about the child's safety to
the court.

The chief justice of the Family Court of Australia, Diana Bryant QC, made the rare
move into public debate after relatives of Darcey Freeman accused the court system
of failing their family.
Darcey, 4, died after plunging almost 60 metres from the bridge in Melbourne last week.
Her father Arthur Phillip Freeman is facing a murder charge after allegedly throwing
her to her death.
It's believed Darcey was farewelled at a private funeral service in Melbourne on
Friday.
The day before her death, Darcey's parents had reached an agreement in the Federal
Magistrates Court over the amount of time Mr Freeman could spend with his three
children.
Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has asked his department to review the
family's case.
Chief Justice Bryant said the court orders were made after an agreement between
Darcey's parents was reached.
"The court obviously has to deal with issues of risk concerning children but it can
only do so when parties raise those issues of risk with the court," she told ABC
Radio.
"In this particular case ... the orders were made by consent. That is, they were not
made by a decision of a judicial officer."
Chief Justice Bryant said a judge could refuse to make orders by consent if they
were deemed not to be in the interests of the child.
"In this case ... the parties did not present to the judicial officer concerned, as
part of their case, that this child was at risk of harm in the father's care," she
said.
"The issues for determination were how much time the father should have with the child.
"The parties actually reached agreement about that issue and the judge didn't have
to make a decision."
Chief Justice Bryant said no concerns were raised about the children's safety.
"That was not an issue," she said.
"You cannot blame the decision."
She said both parents were in court when the decision between them was reached.
"I would have to assume that if the mother had concerns they would have been raised
and she would not have agreed to this decision, this order being made."
Chief Justice Bryant said family breakdown was the second most stressful event
people dealt with, after death.
She said court hearings added to the emotional stress surrounding family breakdowns.
Darcey's uncle Tim Barnes issued a statement on Thursday accusing the court system
of letting the family down.
"For the past two years, the various authorities have been made aware of our fear
for the safety of the children and unfortunately no one would listen," he said.
"We feel the judicial system has failed our family and will continue to fail other
families until someone in authority starts to take action."
Mr McClelland said he had asked his department to review the "distressing" case.
"Family law is an extremely difficult area and if there is anything we can learn
from this tragedy to improve how the system is run we will not hesitate to take the
necessary action," he said in a statement.
Darcey's family has asked The Alannah and Madeline Foundation to set up a trust fund
after receiving an overwhelming number of requests from people wishing to donate
money.
The fund will be used to assist Darcey's two brothers, Ben and Jack.
The foundation will also be looking into establishing a children's day in Darcey's
memory.