Wilson's Law: everything will go wrong

The more evidence we hear from experts the more we realise that Murphy's Law will apply to Professor Wilson's new Property (Relationships) Bill - if anything can go wrong it will go wrong, says Opposition Justice spokesman Tony Ryall.

"The Select Committee should heed the advice of the Principal Family Court Judge, Patrick Mahony, and provide greater guidance for judges in changes to matrimonial property legislation.

"Judge Mahony told the select committee this afternoon that "the courts are good at applying clear law to complex facts. Complex law (such as the proposed legislation) makes it difficult and leads the court to make policy decisions. Parliament must decide on the mix and give us as close a steer as possible."

"Judge Mahony went on to say that "the Family Court is very stretched at the moment, even one additional judge in each of the six main centres is unlikely to be enough to deal with the extra workload (as a result of this legislation)."

"The chaos this legislation is going to cause in our courts must be addressed by giving judges the clear direction they require.

"Professor Wilson should start listening or the Prime Minister is going to take over this bill as well," Mr Ryall said.

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