recent posts
- Racism and cover-up pervade response to deaths in custody
- $200,000 payment plan for Mr Ward's family
- Protests rally against deaths in custody
- Protesters confront AG over deaths in custody
- Porter turns up the heat after prisoner passes out in heat
- Prisoners won't be cuffed for 17 hours in transit: Corrective Services
- Unarmed guards for prisoner charter flights
- WA: Prisoner passes out in hot van
- Gold Coast police in watchhouse logbook cover-up
- Huntingdale man dies in police custody
events
Give 'prison funding to legal aid'
October 29, 2009
Article from: Australian Associated Press
THE Federal and State Governments should divert prison funding to legal aid, the Australian Greens say.
A Senate report to be released next month is expected to criticise successive Federal Governments for slashing legal aid funding to the point where many low-income earners are missing out on assistance.
In a submission to the references committee, the Law Council of Australia produced figures showing Canberra's contribution to legal aid income had fallen from 48 per cent in 1996-97 to 32 per cent in 2009-10.
Indigenous and community legal aid groups are struggling to provide services as funding levels tighten.
Ahead of the report's release on November 19, the Australian Greens are calling on the federal and state governments to divert prison funding to legal aid and rehabilitation programs.
The party's legal affairs spokesman Scott Ludlam said similar approaches had been successfully tried in the United States and could be adopted in Australia to stem the drop in legal aid funding.
"The government is going to have to accept the fact that more funding is required," Senator Ludlam said.
"Everyone has recognised that we have to ... approach things in a different way."
The Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee was due to release its findings tomorrow but that has been delayed until November 19, during the next parliamentary sitting week.
The Law Council said falling legal aid funds mean low-income earners were being denied assistance.
"(They) are forced to go elsewhere to try to obtain help, or to conduct their own cases without legal representation, or to simply give up," council spokeswoman Elenore Eriksson said.
People were increasingly being forced to represent themselves in tricky family law matters or live with an undeserved criminal record which could impede employment opportunities, she added.
downloads
