Although these well-known lines from George Crabbe's poem The Borough, refer to the practice of workhouses, in essence, selling children (a similar instance, may of course, be found in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens), it is equally clear that the practice was not confined to the workhouse. Although the workhouse may have been the ultimate Victorian method of dealing with poverty and certain types of dysfunctional family (Henriques, 1979), there can equally be no doubt that the practice was not thereto restricted. It is the purpose of this article to consider, albeit briefly, the more obvious manifestations of children as property in Nineteenth Century social history and to inquire as to how far those attitudes are still pertinent to Anglo-Australian law.

A visit to Malaysia is a delight for a comparative family lawyer, especially one who adores satay, nasi goreng and biryani.

The country itself is an unlikely amalgam of two land masses separated by 700 km, containing thirteen States of widely differing cultures. West Malaysia is by far the more populous, East Malaysia the larger geographically. In East Malaysia, a rich country (Brunei) is sandwiched as an independent enclave between the two States which do belong to Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah). In the Malay Peninsula the port of Singapore, which geographically belongs to West Malaysia, ceded from the Federation in 1965, and is a separate country.

What we are discussing is the notion of prevention as directed toward families. The idea is to prevent the break-up of families in our community which is costly both in economic and social terms … but, as I hope to demonstrate, there is more to it than that.

Let me also say that the notion of prevention, both in theoretical and conceptual terms as well as in applied, practical terms is nothing new, it has been around for a long time. At the turn of the last century it became a popular theme with the advocates for an expanded role for local government in the U.K.; the work of Sydney and Beatrice Webb, in particular, made a substantial and important contribution there.

Before discussing the types of services that are required I would like to look, just briefly, at some of the recent history in the provision of services.

Edith Bennett was the Director of the Family Welfare Division in what is now Community Services Victoria. Those of you who have been around for more than ten years will remember her. She once said that what we need is a range of flexible services. Being rather young and believing I knew it all I thought at the time that this was a load of simplistic rubbish. How could something so simple be true. The field likes to make these things complex. However, looking back I feel she had made a key point that is perfectly obvious now.

Alys Key Family Care is a Family Support agency that aims to facilitate change within families experiencing severe problems in rearing their children, so that parents are empowered to take control and responsibility for rearing their children adequately. The Centre was established by the Children's Protection Society (after the Society ceased to run the Victorian welfare-based Protective Service) as a 3-year Demonstration Project with a built-in research component. The research has not only enabled testing of the overall effectiveness of the service in meeting its stated goals, but has created a climate of questioning of practice within the area of Family Support.