Legal Aid NSW

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (Parliamentary Secretary) [3.37
p.m.]: I do not intend to speak very long on this motion but I wish to
provide my support to the motion and congratulate Legal Aid New South
Wales on its first 30 years. Without access to justice there is no
justice. That means in New South Wales without legal aid so many people
would be unable to access the legal services they need for a fair trial
and to find justice. The role of Legal Aid New South Wales is very
broad. I would like to focus my comments on the work it does with
community legal centres and, in particular, the work it is doing around
domestic violence through the domestic violence court advocacy service
program.

The official material I have been given about
community legal centres says they provide accessible legal advice,
casework and legal representation to disadvantaged clients. They
promote community legal education activities and provide people with
information about their legal rights and obligations. Community legal
centres encourage participation by volunteers from all sections of the
community in the work, administration and management of the centres.
They facilitate community participation in the legal system and
participate in legal reform. In New South Wales 35 community legal
centres are funded and there are also three new pilot legal services.
The figures tell a much better story than perhaps that fairly sanitised
version of the work they do. In 2008-09 the New South Wales community
legal centres provided 49,230 information services and almost 47,000
legal advice services. They completed 5,248 cases, made 905 court
representations, delivered 605 community legal education sessions and
completed 251 law reform projects. Staff at community legal centres are
far more than just lawyers; they are supporters, social workers and
community workers in the broadest sense, seeking to help whoever comes
through the door with whatever problem they present with.

In particular, I mention two community legal centres with which I am
very familiar. The first is the Redfern Legal Centre, which has been
part of the Redfern community for many decades. It has supported, in
particular, the Aboriginal community of Redfern in innovative ways and
continues to do that work. Last year I was very proud to nominate the
Redfern Legal Centre for a human rights award, which the centre won, in
recognition of its hard work. I particularly acknowledge Helen Campbell
for her work at Redfern Legal Centre and say hello to all the
volunteers there.

Dr John Kaye: Cheerio.

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE:
Cheerio to Margaret Jones. Margaret is in her 80s and has been a
volunteer at that centre for over 20 years. Margaret is the epitome of
volunteers who work in community legal centres. They are thoughtful and
dedicated. There is no task they will not do to support paid workers.
They undertake huge volumes of work. We should not underestimate the
amount of training given to Sydney's legal fraternity by community
legal centres, nor should we underestimate the amount of pro bono work
done by the legal fraternity through those centres. I place on record
my appreciation for their important contribution.

I
highlight also the work of the Inner City Legal Centre. I have been
involved with that centre only in a peripheral way but I am very
familiar with some of the clients who have accessed that service, in
particular their current work around same sex domestic violence, and
tackling court and other legal issues for transgender people and
intersex people. Their work is, quite frankly, groundbreaking. The
centre is providing one of the few places in New South Wales where
people who are transgender or intersex can walk in, feel as though they
can tell their story and have their needs met. It is incredibly
important work.

I acknowledge also the work of the Inner City Legal Centre with respect
to the same-sex case that was taken to the International Human Rights
Committee. This important case involved a man called Edward Young whose
partner, a veteran, died after 30 years. Edward applied for a war
widow's pension and was refused because they were both men. Edward took
the case, with much work and pro bono support from the people at the
Inner City Legal Centre, all the way to the International Human Rights
Committee, which found against the Howard Government's treatment of
same-sex couples. It was this groundbreaking work that led to the
recent welcome reforms.

I refer now to the work of community legal centres in relation to the
Children's Court assistance program. This is a subprogram of the
Community Legal Centre Program and works at the six Children's Court
locations. The scheme provides a roster of trained youth workers to
work with young people and their families before and after court
appearances, as well as on their day in court. They provide information
about court processes and outcomes, informal counselling in conflict
resolution and referral to welfare services such as drug and alcohol
programs, counselling and accommodation. Going to court is a very
baffling thing for most people. Court processes are difficult to
understand. Some people do not know whether they have been found guilty
or are innocent at the end of the whole process. The work of the
Children's Court assistance program is invaluable.

Finally, I comment on the women's domestic violence court advocacy
program, which is funded entirely by the New South Wales Government.
Since July this year the court advocacy program services changed and
funding was increased by $2.7 million a year. The total funding for the
court advocacy program is now $7 million a year. This increased funding
provides greater coverage for the Local Court system, with an increase
in the number of court services from an initial 65 to 108. This has
substantially increased the capacity to respond to the needs of
Aboriginal women and people from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds, particularly those in regional and remote areas. It has
created a significant number of additional specialist Aboriginal and
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse [CALD] worker positions.

The program now funds a statewide network of 28 women's court services
that service 72 court locations and will increase to 108 in the next
year. These services provide specialised court advocacy services for
women and children seeking legal protection through apprehended
domestic violence orders. They offer support for improved safety, the
increased likelihood of obtaining a final order or appropriate orders
that are designed to fit individual needs, improved access to the court
process, improved levels in quality of legal representation, and
appropriate referrals to legal and social welfare services.

During 2008-09 they provided services on 44,233 occasions to almost
16,000 women, an increase of about 5 per cent. This means that 16,000
women sought a domestic violence order because someone close to them
was committing violence against them. They would have been alone in
this process if it were not for the support of workers in the court
advocacy program, working closely with local police officers and other
support services. We agree that 16,000 women is 16,000 too many, but we
should all be very grateful for this service.

I congratulate Legal Aid New South Wales on its thirtieth anniversary.
I acknowledge legal aid workers in the public sector and in the private
sector, and particularly, as my comments have demonstrated, those who
work in community legal services, in all their capacities, whether they
are volunteers or are paid. Their work is invaluable and, quite
frankly, our State would be far less without them.