10.59 am, Thursday May 24 2012

Darcey's murder sparks call for change

16:41 AEDT Tue Mar 29 2011
By Kellee Nolan, Edwina Scott and Belinda Merhab
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Guards escort Arthur Freeman from the Supreme Court.
The man who threw his four-year-old off a bridge said his ex-wife would "regret it", a source says.
Melbourne girl Darcey Freeman. (AAP)
Melbourne girl Darcey Freeman. (AAP)

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Victoria's child safety authorities have moved to ensure murdered four-year-old Darcey Freeman's death will not be in vain.

Child Safety Commissioner Bernie Geary has reviewed Darcey's tragic case and has recommended that the Victorian government improve communications between court and child-protection authorities.

Darcey's father, Arthur Phillip Freeman, threw his daughter 58 metres to her death from Melbourne's West Gate Bridge in 2009 and was convicted of her murder on Monday.

In the months before the murder, Freeman, 37, had been involved in custody negotiations with his ex-wife over access to Darcey and her two brothers.

On Tuesday, Mr Geary said Department of Human Services (DHS) child protection authorities had not been told Darcey's family held fears for her safety.

Mr Geary said his report recommended "reviewing and enhancing" protocols between courts and other professionals wherever there were concerns for a child's safety.

He said he hoped the government would look at the recommendations urgently.

"This is an opportunity for us to look at our system and improve it so that Darcey's death may not be in vain," Mr Geary told AAP on Tuesday.

"In this case child-protection authorities hadn't been notified. I'm not saying that (in the case of) this little girl that that's anybody's fault. I'm just saying we can do our very best for these children."

Premier Ted Baillieu said the government would examine ways to prevent similar tragedies.

"If there are things that we can do to prevent this happening in the future then we should be looking at that and we will," Mr Baillieu said.

In the days following her murder, Darcey's uncle Tim Barnes released a statement saying the judicial system had failed the family.

Mr Barnes called for authorities to take action, saying for two years "various authorities" had been told but had not listened to family fears about the Freeman children's safety.

Mr Geary said everyone in the court system should have a responsibility to pass on information about child safety concerns to authorities.

While the DHS and family law courts had a cooperative relationship, the review of Darcey's case was an opportunity to further improve it, he said.

Australian Childhood Foundation chief executive Joe Tucci agreed that Darcey's tragic case showed that clearer communication was needed between child protection agencies, family law courts and police.

"A threat against a child in a family court dispute can run the risk of being minimised because it's seen as a war between parents rather than a credible threat against a child," Dr Tucci said.

But he said the question of how to stop parents using children as weapons in their conflicts was yet to be answered.

Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said Darcey's brothers, who were in their father's car on the West Gate Bridge when she was murdered, would carry a "heavy burden" into childhood.

"These kids will have to struggle in their own minds about how someone who is supposed to love them could do something like that," Dr Carr-Gregg said.

He called for family courts to be given more resources to support families, particularly men, dealing with divorce.

A pre-sentence hearing for Freeman will be held before Justice Paul Coghlan in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday.

 

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