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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (18 February) . . Page.. 65 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Having listened to that questioning, I cannot recall any politician handling questions as badly as that for many years. I thought, "If that is the calibre of understanding that our Federal Attorney-General has, it is no wonder that we have strife in this area". We all have bad days, and perhaps he was having a very bad day that particular day. But, whatever the case was, he had no understanding of the issues in front of him. I hope that in the meetings since then with Mr Humphries a reasonable understanding of the issues has been achieved.

Madam Deputy Speaker, in many ways I am very supportive of the stance taken by our Attorney-General, Gary Humphries, in this area; but I am very critical of the Federal Government's economic rationalist approach to this issue, as it takes to so many other issues. I hear myself agreeing with some of the comments made this morning by Simon Corbell in his inaugural speech, in terms of the sorts of outcomes that we get being based on whether or not you get good dollar value, as opposed to whether you get good outcomes in terms of social justice. I thought it was a very thoughtful speech that dealt with these areas this morning. This is yet another example of the sorts of issues that were raised by Mr Corbell.

Madam Deputy Speaker, we have a situation now where our Attorney-General has to ensure appropriate legal aid for ACT citizens, and he has to do that, by preference, in conjunction with the Federal Government. But, either way, we have to see fairer access to justice. Unfortunately, legal aid of itself can never, and will never, provide reasonable access to justice. It deals with the people who have most difficulty in reaching justice, and for that reason it is very important. It is also important, Madam Deputy Speaker, for us to go through the whole issue of the way we perceive justice in this country. More and more, it is getting to the stage where people are saying, "If you have the money, you have far more access to justice than people who do not have the money". I think, in a society where we expect egalitarianism, that is entirely inadequate.

MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: The discussion has concluded.

MR WOOD (4.54): Madam Deputy Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion relating to Commonwealth funding for legal aid.

Leave granted.

MR WOOD: I move:

That the Assembly -

(1) condemns the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, and the Federal Government for breaking an election promise and cutting funding for legal aid services;

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