sentences:  The Family Court of Western Australia was established by the "Family Court Act 1975" (WA) (later repealed and replaced by the "Family Court Act 1997" (WA)).In the second reading speech of the 1975 bill the Minister for Works, Des O'Neil, referred to a number of reasons the Western Australian Government preferred to keep a state-based Family Court (rather than referring family law matters to a Commonwealth court).These included concerns over the demarcation of federal and state jurisdiction and its effect on litigants, that the Court could exercise related state jurisdiction, and to "keep the justice system as close to the people of the state" as possible without the need to establish a Commonwealth court.