SOARING DIVORCE FIGURES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 255, 9 August 1946, Page 3

SOARING DIVORCE FIGURES

ALARM AND DISTRESS EXPRESSED POSITION IN AUSTRALIA (Special from C. R, Mentiplay, Representative of N.Z.P.A.) SYDNEY, Aug. 8. Though many share the alarm and distress at the soaring divorce figures as expressed by Mr C. F. Martin, Attorney-General for New South Wales, few seem to have been aroused to the extent of doing something about combating the increase.

Expressing his determination to arouse the conscience of the State in the approach to matrimonial conciliation, Mr Martin said that the only piece of work in that field done in New South Wales which merited consideration was that carried out by the Family Welfare Bureau established in Sydney as an activity of the Australian Comforts Fund. The connection of this with the problems of ex-servicemen is significant. A leading Sydney lawyer said to me to-day that the filing of petitions during the war years had a direct relationship to the movements of the Australian divisions. Petitions by husbands seeking divorce on the grounds of adultery and desertion soon outnumbered those by wives, and year after year matters have stayed in this unbalanced state. Boom Expected This lawyer predicts that this year and next will be boom years for divorces because, of tlie return of prisoners of war of the Eighth Australian Division. Supporting this contention he states that in 1943, by which time the divisions which had been serving in the Middle East had all passed through Australia on their way to New Guinea, divorces skyrocketed. Husbands took the lead in all States, the total figures Of petitions filed being 3482 by husbands and 2955 by wives. Last year in New South Wales alone 3180 husbands and 2263 wives petitioned on various grounds and 641 husbands and only 292 wives were granted divorces on the grounds of adultery. , Throughout the war officers were amazed at the number of men in their units who came to them for advice on matrimonial questions or requests for army legal aid. Long-Term Trend That is the army angle only. An examination of .the State figures of petitions lodged indicates that, though most family trouble occurred in the war years, there has been a steady increase since the turn of the century. Immediately after World War I the figures almost trebled .themselves. Now history has repeated itself and they have trebled again. Mr Martin demands the experimental adoption of matrimonial conciliation. In his view it is necessary to endeavour to effect conciliation before the matter reached the courts because experience proves that once a legal step is taken both parties are often eager to go through with it.

He is intrigued by the system now operating in New Zealand and intends to investigate it personally, if possible, but he regards it as yet unproved. At present he is finding that the most-difficult part of the task is to convince the public of the serious nature of the position. In this he is not helped by a section of the press which regards the situation as excellent material for comic cartoons and humorous articles.