Mark's personal story

I loved my ex wife. She hit me at times during our marriage including beating me when I was driving and king hitting me in the face. She held a sharp knife and threatened to kill herself and my 3 children. She has threatened to kill my children several times.

In court in 2009 she admitted to leaving my 3 year old daughter, 5 year old son and 7 year old son at home by themselves all day and let them use the microwave and use knives. My ex wife said that in her culture it is acceptable to neglect children. The magistrate ignored the neglect and let her have the kids.

When my ex wife hit me or verbally abused me she would call the police and have me forcibly removed from my house. After several bouts of this the police told me if they came again they'd put a restraining order on me from seeing my children. I had to leave the state to protect my children.

There is a lack of justice in the justice department. I asked for all the school holidays with my children and the magistrate ruled that friendships are more important than spending time with parents. I only have partial holidays. When I moved interstate I got phone calls from local police with reports that I was going to kill myself. I feel threatened by the police even though I am innocent.

The legal system is unfair. I can't afford legal service, yet my ex wife is married, living with her husband and getting free legal aid, based on her single parent status from Centrelink.