Zahra's mother did have a right to be informed of Adam's plans for their daughter. She wasn't.
And he did know how to contact Emily since he had been taking her Child Support Payments for several years. So he lied about that to The Passport Office when he applied for Zahra's passport. That was an illegal act resulting in the death of Zahra.
I have long believed that he only took Zahra to America because he wanted to go on claiming the child support payments, albeit encouraged by Elisa.
The man is despicable, and I'm not so sure he is as daft as he seems. But I want a bit more Justice for Zahra than has so far transpired.
Sabot, I agree that AB is despicable ... no argument from me on that count whatsoever.
But, your other comments are opinion, not fact. We have absolutely no certainty that:
1) Emily had any legal right to be informed of Zahra's whereabouts
2) Adam had been taking child support payments from Emily for several years
3) by taking child support payments from Emily that Adam would know Emily's whereabouts
4) that Adam lied to the Passport agency when he applied for Zahra's passport.
Believe me, my heart goes out to Emily for her suffering – the suffering she felt with post-natal depression, the frustration of failing to permanently re-establish contact with Zahra, the frustration of constantly finding Adam had moved Zahra to new locations, and the horror of finding out that Zahra was missing, then dead. It is the worst kind of torture a mother could suffer. But I refuse to let that compassion and my emotions obscure information.
My responses to the above points:
1) If the Australian Family Court orders that a child is in the sole care of one parent without the involvement of the other (ie "parental responsibility" has been removed from the second party), then there's no legal requirement to inform the other parent of activities involving the child.
But did this go to the Family Court? What orders are in place regarding Zahra?
2)
Do we know as a fact that Emily was paying $ to Adam? This has not been confirmed in any Australian media. I personally feel if Emily was paying child support to Adam this would be an admirable quality in her, so I would commend her for doing so! But, be aware that in Australia, paying child support gives you no rights for access to or information about the child whatsoever.
3) In Australia the Child Support Agency usually obtains the child support payments from the paying parent and deposits these into the carer's account for use in care of the child. Assessments are made on information obtained directly from the Taxation department. There's no need for communication between parties. Locations and addresses of parties are not necessarily known to each other. The Agency has the right to shut down the bank accounts of negligent parents who are in arrears, and they can seize $ from that account to pay to the parent who cares for the child. Emily and Adam would not necessarily have known the location of the other.
But again, do we know for certain that such payments were being made? And if they were, was it through the Child Support Agency?
4) An Australian passport application requires the consent of all parties who hold "parental responsibility for the child". It is not necessary to have both parent's signatures on the application if certain Family Court orders are in place, or if other circumstances exist. This is from the Australian Passport Office:
What happens if you cannot get consent?
If the consent of anyone with parental responsibility for the child cannot be obtained after all avenues have been exhausted, and there is no court order permitting the child to travel internationally, a written request for 'special circumstances' under section 11(2) of the Australian Passports Act 2005 may be made. An Approved Senior Officer, an officer delegated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, will consider the statement in support of the request to determine if a passport may be issued without the other person's consent.
In such cases, the passport application must be accompanied by:
- a statement made on Form B8 or B9 in which you state why the necessary consent has not and cannot be obtained, and explain the special circumstances relevant to the application, and
- the child's full birth certificate, and
- the originals of all court orders affecting parental responsibility for the child.
https://www.passports.gov.au/Web/Newppt/consent.aspx
So, Adam would not have been able to obtain a passport for Zahra unless he met the above criteria. They are VERY strict with this process. The only way he could have done this is with Family Court orders in place, or by filling in this B8 or B9 form (in which case the Passport office may choose to track down the other parent themselves to obtain information), or by forging Emily's signature.
Do we have any evidence that Adam obtained the passport illegally?
I am certain that when he returns to Australian soil that if he did break the law then he will face charges.
