Australian legal threat to 'fathers in blackshirts'

The Australian authorities threatened legal action yesterday against a fathers' group whose members wear black paramilitary-style uniforms and harass their ex-wives.

The group, called the Blackshirts, was set up to protest against a family court system that it believes is unfair to men. Members are accused of making abusive telephone calls to former wives, circulating hate mail and knocking on their doors in the middle of the night.

The Blackshirts say they have 300 members in Victoria and wear a uniform that includes black masks and black baseball caps. In at least 12 recent cases, disgruntled men have staged demonstrations outside women's homes, using megaphones to broadcast allegations of infidelity and child abuse to their neighbours.

After the group's activities came to light this week, the Victoria state attorney general, Rod Hulls, warned members in a letter that they could be prosecuted if they continued to stalk women and use other "intimidatory and cowardly" tactics.

Mr Hulls said yesterday: "If they think they can pump around Victoria in their black shirts harassing women under the guise of protecting marriage and family, they've got another think coming."

The group's leader, John Abbott, said the Blackshirts were defenders of family values, and pledged to continue campaigning against divorce and custody judgments. He called on Mr Hulls to apologise to the men, who he said were "heroes and should be treated accordingly".

Mr Abbott said members were exercising their right to protest. "We're here to encourage and protect and defend marriage, the family and children," he said. "If a mother, for example, refuses to let the children see the father, we will demonstrate against it."

Family lawyers accused the Blackshirts of trying to sow fear among divorced women. Sandra Vessali, of the Women's Legal Service, said yesterday: "They claim to be protecting children, but all the women who have contacted us are terrified."

Another lawyer, Sue MacGregor, said the group waited outside courtrooms to target men reeling from adverse rulings. "You get men coming out of court in a very vulnerable state, and there are people standing outside handing out brochures that seem to reflect their emotions that day, and they get sucked in," she said.

The Blackshirts have allegedly been linked to a child abduction case in which a 10-year-old boy was taken by his father and hidden among groups of men.

The Victoria state premier, Steve Bracks, urged the Blackshirts to seek help. "If they are suffering anger and hurt because of family break-up, they should seek advice and support and counselling," he said. "What they are doing is totally unacceptable."

Mr Abbott was defiant. "There will be no stopping of our activities, in fact they will intensify," he said. "No adult has the right to put themselves before their own children, and if any parent does that, then they have an appointment with the Blackshirts."

Asked about the fascist connotations of the group's uniforms, he replied: "I don't have any problem with fascism."