Australian Men's Rights Advocates - AustralianMRA
Support Payments “Drove Man To Suicide”
Canberra Times - Sunday, 19th November 2000, by Megan Doherty
“You've Pushed Him To The Grave”, Ex-Partner Tells CSA Officer.
Queenbeyan woman Kate Gibbs is convinced the pressure of making child support payments while being unable to build a new life of his own is what finally drove her former partner to commit suicide.
Ms Gibbs and Warrant Gilbert always expected to support his three children but not to the extent where he was only working to keep up the payments and simply exist.
The 28-year old Canberra man died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a friend's car in August while clutching a letter of demand from the Child Support Agency which he had received two days earlier.
The Act Coroner's Court was told this week Mr Gilbert was being forced to live on $150 a week, 47 per cent of his gross salary gone in tax and 30 per cent in child support.
Coroner Warren Nicholl made no recommendation about the CSA but said it was clear that Mr Gilbert's struggle to meet obligations played a large part in the lead-up to his death.
Ms Gibbs claims the CSA even asked Mr Gilbert to sell his car and furniture to maintain the payments without taking into account whether the mothers of his children had entered into new relationships and their circumstances had changed.
Ms Gibbs, 20, said, "You should have to pay for your kids, fair enough, but I mean when they're set up and don't need the money, it shouldn't be taken.
Child Support Agency general manager Catherine Argall said legislation prevented her from discussing in detail individual cases but she did suggest the CSA had not treated Mr Gilbert unfairly.
"When CSA hears of the suicide of one of its clients, it has a profound impact on us and particularly those staff who have spoken with the family." Ms Agall said.
"In circumstances such as this we review our contacts and in this case I can confirm there was no indication that Mr Gilbert was in distress over child support.
"The public records indicate that Mr Gilbert's personal circumstances were complex."
MS Gibbs said other factor may have contributed to Mr Gilbert taking his own life but she believes the child support payments and the fact that the mothers of his children did not want him to see them tipped him over the edge.
Ms Gibbs said Mr Gilbert was working seven days a week but still could not get out of debt or buy his own home.
"He wasn't getting anywhere," she said.
Mr Gilbert had three children from two different relationships.
Ms Gibbs, who was with him for four years, claims she rang Mr Gilbert's CSA case manager the day after she discovered he was dead.
"Pretty much the first thing that came out of her mouth was , "Did he have a will? Does he have any assets?" and I said, 'You're not taking anything else off him. You've pushed him to the grave," she said.
Ms Gibbs believes the CSA has a punitive attitude to non-custodial parents.
"When we put a claim in to get payments reduced and he put down $10 for entertainment they wouldn't lower it because he spent things on entertainment," she said.
"It's just little things. You can't go anywhere. You just haven't got the money."
Biological Mothers Murder More of Their Own Children Than Do Biological Fathers
Australian Institute of Criminology statistics show there were 270 child homicide incidents in Australia from July 1989 to June 1999, involving 287 identified offenders and resulting in the deaths of 316 children under 15.
For example, the revised National Homicide Monitoring Program 2006-07 Annual Report states 11 homicides involved a biological mother and 5 involves a biological father.
The Western Australian figures shed light on who is likely to abuse children in families. Mothers are identified as the perpetrator of neglect and abuse in a total of 73% of verified cases.
Biological mothers account for about 35 per cent of all child murders, while biological fathers account for 29 per cent
Family Courts’
Violence Review
October 2009
The Attorney-General commissioned a review of the practices, procedures and laws that apply in the federal family law courts in the context of family violence. The Family Courts Violence Review considered whether improvements could be made to ensure that the federal family law courts provide the best possible support to families who have experienced or are at risk of violence.
Men's Rights Agency Reply to the Family Courts Violence Review
Dr Phil TV Show - Men's Rights
September 2021
Dr Phil mixes both the mainstream men's rights advocates and a nutcase guy looking for publicity to make men look bad to create a controversial and ridiculous show to attract an audience of mainly middle aged non-working women who watch TV in the afternoons.
Advertisers love such controversial shows aimed at women who control over 80% of household spending. The more ridiclous some person on the show is, the better the ratings. Dr Phil is the upscale Jerry Springer. These shows really insult the intelligence of women.
In the show, Dr. Phil, who is no longer registered as psychologist, admits that all of his show management are females as are 90+% of his staff.
The show does have the "Martin Luther King" of the Men's Rights Movement - Warren Farrell. It also has Cassie Jay of The Red Pill documentary fame. Jerry Cox who was falsely accused of rape and kidnapping by a woman is featured. He had the ridiculous charges dropped and successfuly sued the woman.
Do men get a rough deal?
National Times
January 11, 2011
Seems a bit rich these days to claim there is a ‘‘glass ceiling’’ for female jobs. Load of cobblers, isn't it? I mean, Australia has a female Prime Minister and a female Governor-General.
Has there really been discrimination over the years against mothers who work -- or against women without children?
The National Council of Women thinks so and no surprise there. I recently chatted with Victorian leader Jennie Rawther who pointed out that, among other things, women at the end of World War 1 had to give up their jobs to returning servicemen -- even though their husbands may have been killed in combat. There was no widow’s pension, nor child support.
Sounds tough but Age reader Steve Hills of Rosebud is not impressed. “There is overwhelming evidence that female health, safety and female lives were held as more valuable than men’s lives,” he says. “Men’s lives were routinely regarded as disposable. The view that women alone were discriminated against is an ignorant one.”