Page 3633 - Week 08 - Friday, 24 August 2012
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The ICRC is an organisation that helps to ensure access to utilities through the application of reasonable pricing. Independent pricing is something that often escapes those opposite, but it is an important function of the commission. The ICRC is also an organisation that looks after the interests of consumers. This is a point again that often escapes certain members in this place—that an efficiently operating market operates to the benefit of consumers through lower prices and better products.
Responsible economic policy consists of not only providing a sweetheart deal for particular businesses or a multitude of government plans for a particular industry; in fact it should be about promoting efficient markets so that consumers get the benefits of competition. That is why it is important to get the policy settings right and that is why having information is important. That is where the ICRC plays a very important role. For this reason I commend the appropriation to the Assembly.
Proposed expenditure agreed to.
Proposed expenditure—Part 1.24—Legal Aid Commission (ACT)—$9,680,000 (net cost of outputs), totalling $9,680,000.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (4.33): The legal aid budget line is a very important one. The money directed towards legal aid goes to help people who need legal assistance but who of course cannot afford a private lawyer. This really is one very important place where governments around Australia act to uphold important justice principles such as a citizen’s right to a fair trial, equality before the law and access to justice.
The Greens believe that a three-pronged approach to increasing access to justice is the best and delivers the most comprehensive investment from government. The three prongs are, firstly, working with private lawyers to remove any barriers to more pro bono work being carried out; secondly, funding legal aid commissions to provide advice and representation to those who cannot afford a private lawyer; and, thirdly, supporting community legal centres to help them catch those people who risk falling through the cracks because they cannot afford a private lawyer and do not qualify for legal aid.
This budget line item and its funding of legal aid forms one of the key planks of the approach to delivering access to justice.
The ACT commitment to legal aid is significant. In the financial year 2012-13 the ACT government payment for output from the Legal Aid Commission of the ACT is $9.6 million. So it is a substantial investment which the Greens support.
However, across Australia, funding for legal aid is a point of quite some contention within legal circles, and indeed between the commonwealth and state governments. Funding of legal aid commissions is a joint exercise between the commonwealth and the states and territories. The Greens are concerned at the apparent slowing trend of commonwealth funding for legal aid commissions.
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