Couple lose rights to daughter
A Perth mother and father have lost a bid to stop their five-year-old daughter moving with her grandmother to North America.
The couple, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, separated four years ago and have an acrimonious relationship.
A Family Court judgment published this week also revealed the parents have a history of drug taking, antisocial behaviour, domestic violence and convictions which have led to jail terms.
Concerns about the child were reported to the Department for Child Protection when she was a baby in 2009, when officers found her living in squalid conditions.
The girl has been cared for by her maternal grandmother since she came from North America to Perth to temporarily look after her in 2012.
The grandmother moved to North America 14 years ago and wants to return there, but conceded she would stay in Perth if it was ruled that was in her granddaughter's best interests.
The girl's 26-year-old mother recognised it was in her daughter's best interests to stay with her grandmother, but opposed her child relocating.
The father, 39, said at the trial in March he would accept orders for her to stay with her grandmother, provided she could not be removed from Australia.
Justice John Walters ordered the grandmother be given custody rights and allowed to go to North America. The parents had not addressed their myriad issues, he said.
