THE father at the centre of an international family dispute has hit out at the Australian Government for assisting his ex-wife to allegedly kidnap his children in breach of Italian law.

The man's four daughters - aged between nine and 15 - returned to Italy with their father last month, after their mother brought them to Australia for a holiday in 2010 and never went back.



The mother said she followed embassy advice and fled Italy to get away from her allegedly abusive husband.



But the husband slammed as "unforgivable" the Australian Government's role in assisting his wife.



"I am not a violent man. (My wife) told this to Australian people and Australian embassy because she (is) looking for compassion," the man told 60 Minutes.



"I never, ever hit (my wife) or my children."



The couple's marriage ended in 2006 and the Italian courts then awarded joint custody to the estranged pair.



The mother said she probably would not have been able to leave the country without the assistance of the embassy.



"They (Australian embassy) said they could assist me, they said they would help me come back to Australia... kind of blindly followed what the embassy said," she said.



The husband said the girls were doing well in Italy, though they missed their mother, especially around bedtime.