• Be an expanding database type resource for non-lawyers with answers to frequently asked questions about all aspects of family law such as children, money, domestic violence/abuse and family related topics such as caring for the elderly, welfare benefits, medical treatment and education;
• Provide a wide range of links to internet resources including medical and social work sites, sites about parenting, self-help groups etc;
• Provide practical advice about preparing family cases, dealing with lawyers and other family professionals;
• Pick up themes from tv programmes, films and news stories about family law issues;
• Provide general information about the court system including information about costs, non-legal ‘representation’ and sources of advice, the role of professionals, etc;
• Provide information about domestic and European policy initiatives; and other jurisdictional models and intervention programs;
• Encourage public dialogue between families and the different types of professionals involved in family cases;
• Provide a forum for debate about the family court system and support for those involved in it.

The website will not be about:

• Making money;
• Providing advice to people about their particular case;
• Campaigning on any particular issue except access to information (and not access to court hearings).

Yes, I could have been a judge but I never had the Latin, never had the Latin for judging, I just never had sufficient of it to get through the rigorous judging exams. They’re noted for their rigour. People come out staggering and saying ‘My god, what a rigorous exam – and so I became a miner instead. I’d rather have been a judge than a miner. Being a miner, as soon as you are too old and tired and sick and stupid to do the job properly, you have to go. Well, the very opposite applies with judges.

Cook Peter

Sitting on the Bench from the Complete Beyond the Fringe 1987