Page 2955 - Week 11 - Thursday, 22 October 1992
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Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is, as I have indicated, some uplifting of optimism on the part of the commission in its most recent report. I think that is a good sign. The Commonwealth's contribution is fixed at about 55 per cent at present. The ACT contributes about 45 per cent of the cost of that service. It may be that we have to consider whether that level is appropriate. We cannot answer that question in an MPI discussion of today's length, but it is a question that has to be faced up to if we are to answer the question: Are citizens of the ACT getting equal and proper access to justice?
MS ELLIS (5.38): There is no doubt that the Legal Aid Commission assists many people who are socially and economically disadvantaged. There is no doubt also that not all socially and economically disadvantaged people do receive assistance from the Legal Aid Commission. This is due to a variety of reasons, including the likelihood of success of the case, the nature of the case and the circumstances of the applicant.
I wish to talk today about the positive initiatives and successes of Legal Aid. I understand that the ACT Legal Aid Commission pioneered the first legal program in Australia to help women obtain protection orders protecting them from domestic violence. Mr Deputy Speaker, this work is very demanding. Last year the commission helped 704 women to obtain protection from physical and sexual abuse, and I know that many women see the help from Legal Aid as the turning point in their lives. I do not know the views of others in this chamber, but I believe that this is one of the most vital and important roles that the officers of the Legal Aid Commission have.
Also, in 1992, the commission started a program of information sessions specifically on the rights and obligations of women. It was piloted in Tuggeranong, where the need for such services is the greatest. The Tuggeranong office, as referred to earlier by the Minister, is open from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm daily, and in 1991-92 it assisted a total of 1,205 people. The assistants to the solicitors at the Tuggeranong office are all volunteers. It must be very gratifying to Chris Staniforth and his officers to know that the commission has such a good name in the community that people are prepared to assist on a voluntary basis.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the Legal Aid Commission is aware of demand throughout Canberra for a program such as this and it is, as I speak, exploring ways of starting a similar program in Belconnen. I noted in the Tuggeranong Chronicle recently that Legal Aid has met with an overwhelming response in the Tuggeranong Valley. It is unfortunate, Madam Speaker, that so many people need the services of Legal Aid, but it is gratifying to know that Legal Aid has gone where the real problems lie and is assisting in the best possible way.
The commission has always had an excellent reputation in working with children. It has pioneered claims for criminal injuries and compensation in cases where young women are the victims of incest and other domestic violence. It provides a wide range of services to children, from help at schools and other community bodies, to appearing for all children who have criminal charges before the courts and who pass the commission's means test. Many of these children do not have support, both emotional and physical, from the normal sources of family and friends. Legal Aid plays an enormously helpful role, not just in the pure legal sense, for these children.
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