Page 971 - Week 03 - Thursday, 23 March 2017
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These cuts could also mean turning away people who are caught up in a dispute with Centrelink, facing demands to repay a debt that they have no means to repay during a time when it has been made clear publicly that there are flaws in the accuracy of Centrelink’s debt recovery process. We have seen public acknowledgements that there are letters being sent to people who do not have debts. For someone who is perhaps not familiar with how the bureaucracy works or how the legislation works, or who perhaps has English as a second language, having somebody who can represent them in those sorts of disputes can be the difference between sorting something out readily and sorting it out with much more drama.
It is important to note in particular the situation of the Environmental Defenders Office in the ACT. It lost all of its federal funding in late 2013 as one of the first acts of the newly elected federal coalition government. It has since become clear that there was zero consultation held with the EDOs before the federal Attorney-General decided to remove their funding, with EDOs finding out upon the release of the 2013 midyear economic and fiscal outlook that the majority of their funding had been lost.
Environmental defenders offices play a very important role as community legal centres, different from the role I have just described for individuals. Their role is much more one of a public interest situation, standing up for the environment and assisting community organisations to challenge government, developers and a range of folks when it comes to matters of the environment. They play a very important role, giving voice to and legal support for matters that deserve to be publicly contested. People will not always agree with the role that an EDO takes or the case that they take, but we cannot dispute the importance of their role and the importance of having that case made.
The ACT Greens have long called for the restoration of EDO funding, recognising the value of the service they have provided to the ACT community as well as the valuable contributions they have made towards ongoing reforms to our environmental laws. Not only do the EDOs take on individual cases; they take on an advocacy role in terms of commenting on legislation, discussion papers from government and the like. Again, that is a very important role.
To that end, I do not believe the ACT government should have to fill the funding gap left by the federal government in that case. It highlights the fact that both federal and state and territory governments need to play a role in resourcing community legal centres.
I was very pleased that through the parliamentary agreement for this Ninth Assembly, both the Greens and the Labor Party have agreed to provide funding for the Environmental Defenders Office in the ACT to ensure their continued operation. They were facing imminent closure, and the injection of $130,000 a year will mean that they will be able to continue. I am very pleased to have been able to bring that funding about. I am disappointed the ACT has had to step into that space, but I welcome the fact that we have been able to rescue the Environmental Defenders Office from that imminent closure.
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