OPENING OF LEGAL AID QUEENSLAND AND WESTERN QUEENSLAND JUSTICE NETWORK

Mt Isa, Queensland

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY 

First, may I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet on – and pay my respects to their elders, both past and present.

Thank you for inviting me to visit Legal Aid Queensland and the Western Queensland Justice Network in your new, joint location.

This is the first time in Queensland that the Legal Aid Commission and a community legal centre have shared the same premises. This is a good practical example of different functions working together to provide complementary services. It is an initiative that, I am sure, will benefit both services, and most importantly the clients who seek your help.

Together, you serve a region including the Gulf of Carpentaria – Mornington Island, Doomadgee, Normanton and Burketown as well as the towns of Cloncurry, Boulia, Richmond, Julia Creek, Hughenden, Longreach and Barcaldine. That’s an area larger than France.

Your services meet the legal needs of people disadvantaged by distance, socio-economic background and cultural differences.

Of course, cooperation in this region includes other important services.

You are fortunate here in Mt Isa to also have an office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services Queensland and a Family Violence Prevention Legal Services Unit. This is in addition to the services of private law firms that provide access to justice for the local community.

This cooperation, particularly in regional and rural areas, is critical to meeting the diverse needs of disadvantaged members of the community.

Family Dispute Resolution and Innovation

It is also good to see that representatives of the local Family Relationship Centre are also here today. 

As you know, I recently announced a trial project where lawyers from legal aid and community legal centres will offer legal information and advice to FRC clients. As a result, families will benefit from the expertise of both the legal and family support sectors.

Legal Aid Queensland is a longstanding provider of services to people with family law problems.  Back in the 1980s it was a pioneer of using family dispute resolution (FDR) to keep families out of court.

Today FDR is integral to legal aid family law services. More than half the matters mediated at legal aid commissions are fully resolved. This outcome reduces costs for clients, legal aid commissions and the courts. But that’s only the financial costs.

FDR also emphasises people’s ability to solve their own problems. It also keeps the focus on children and reduces parental conflict that can cause children long‑term damage.

That is a social benefit that cannot be considered simply in monetary terms because it reduces the risk of social exclusion for children and parents.

Legal Assistance and Social Inclusion

Legal assistance also plays an important role in the Government’s wider social inclusion agenda.

Legal aid is needed to represent disadvantaged people in court when things have gone badly wrong.

More importantly, access to legal advice prevents many day-to-day problems from escalating to a level where they become entrenched and require costly legal representation.

When left unresolved, problems can escalate into violence, crime, loss of health, income or employment, and relationship breakdown.

Australian research shows that intervening early to solve legal issues can prevent this cascade of problems.

Access to Justice Report

Early intervention and social inclusion are key themes identified by the Access to Justice Taskforce in their examination of the federal civil justice system.

Last week, I launched the report of the Access to Justice Taskforce, entitled ‘A Strategic Framework for Access to Justice in the Federal Civil Justice System’.  This report is the result of the Taskforce’s comprehensive review of the federal civil justice system. 

While the Taskforce concluded that our justice system is basically strong, there is a mismatch between what people need – ‘the demand for justice’, and the ‘supply’ of civil justice services.  This is because, in the past, decisions about the justice system have often been made on an ad hoc basis. 

The Government has agreed to take a system wide approach to access to justice through the adoption of a Strategic Framework for Access to Justice.  The Framework is based on principles of accessibility, appropriateness, equity, efficiency and effectiveness and will ensure that decisions about reforming the justice system will be made in a coordinated manner. 

The Access to Justice Taskforce also made a number of recommendations for consideration by Government, including

The recommendations of the Taskforce will be the subject of further consultation and consideration by Government and other stakeholders. 

I hope that those with an interest in access to justice across all sectors and institutions will participate in the consultation process, including those here today who can bring a perspective from working in regional and remote Australia.

Resources

Despite the difficult economic times, the Government’s commitment to improving access to justice remains strong.

We have maintained ongoing legal aid funding of over $700 million over the next four years. I was also pleased to be able to provide over $54 million in additional funding for legal assistance services over the last two financial years. 

As many of you may be aware, we are currently negotiating a new National Partnership Agreement for legal aid with the States and Territories. This Agreement will settle arrangements for legal aid service delivery for the next four years.

It is important that we all work together to develop a framework which can focus of delivering the most effective services to resolve disputes. 

I am keen, for example, to see the principles of the Access to Justice Framework considered in these negotiations.  This includes a greater focus on the role that legal assistance services can play in targeted intervention to resolve issues as early as possible, without protracted and expensive litigation.

I look forward to further discussions with my State and Territory colleagues in the near future as we work together to finalise the agreements.

The Government is also helping to improve access to legal services for communities in regional, rural and remote Australia. I know that Legal Aid Queensland has taken very positive steps with its Regional Solicitor Program to encourage lawyers to work away from the cities.

A number of projects have also been supported through the Government’s Regional Innovations Program for Legal Services. 

Recently, I met with representatives from the Law Council of Australia to discuss the broader issues around the recruitment and retention of lawyers in regional, rural and remote Australia.

As the Council recognises, this is a broader issue which will require a range of strategies both at the local and national level and partnerships between government, community and private sector.

Conclusion

We all need to keep thinking creatively to find new ways to work together to provide legal help where it is most needed.

I am confident that this new office, which brings the expertise of both services, will lead to innovation and greater collaboration in the delivery of two legal assistance services.

It is my great pleasure now to announce the Legal Aid Queensland and Western Queensland Justice Network Mt Isa Office officially open.

Thank you.