Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses,SC,said the government's commitment to the"fundamentally flawed merger"was"not only irrational,but is extremely disrespectful to the views of the significant stakeholders in the family violence services sector".
"These dedicated professionals who understand this area better than any member of the government have made it clear that this policy will hurt children and families,"he said in a speech in Newcastle on Friday night.
Family law is the area of law more Australians will come into contact with than any other. In 2017,almost half of all divorces involved children,down from 67.6 per cent in 1975.
Legislation to give effect to the merger,which would create a new Federal Circuit and Family Court,is expected to be reintroduced to Parliament before the end of the year.
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An attempt to pass the bill failed when Mr Porter wasunable to win sufficient support from the Senate crossbench to have legislation voted on before the May 18 election.
Mr Porter has touted the merger as a means of improving efficiency in cases and clearing a backlog of about 20,000 matters,but Mr Moses said"we are concerned it will further increase cost,time and stress for families".