THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Attorney-General
Minister for Emergency Management
Special Minister of State
Minister for the Public Service and Integrity
MEDIA RELEASE
Forty years of legal assistance
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC today joined senior members of the judiciary, legal profession and legal assistance sector at the Supreme Court of Victoria to commemorate forty years since the establishment of the Australian Legal Aid Office.
Chief Justice of the Victorian Supreme Court Marilyn Warren and representatives from the four Commonwealth-funded legal assistance bodies and the Law Council of Australia also spoke at the event, which celebrated the work of the legal assistance sector over four decades.
The establishment of the Australian Legal Aid Office on 25 July 1973 began the Australian Governments involvement in providing legal assistance funding to the most disadvantaged people in our society, Mr Dreyfus said.
The Whitlam Government had a vision of a national system of legal aid. This is something the current Government continues to support.
Today we also celebrate the work of the legal assistance sector over this period and I thank the staff of those organisations for their vital ongoing work in providing access to justice for those in our communities who are most in need.
Since coming to office, the federal Labor Government has been working to restore Commonwealth support to the legal assistance sector, most recently with:
- increased funding of $30 million over two years for Legal Aid Commissions;
- a funding injection for Community Legal Centres of $33.5 million over four years; and
- additional funding of $12 million over two years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services.
The Australian Legal Aid Office was the precursor to the eight state and territory Legal Aid Commissions that we have today, and that are at the forefront of providing legal assistance services for disadvantaged Australians.
In addition to the Legal Aid Commissions, the legal assistance sector includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, Community Legal Centres and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services.
The committed staff of the legal assistance services work to provide a fair go under the law for all Australians and, assisted by the important contributions of the private legal profession, are helping us to build a more just nation, Mr Dreyfus said.
WEDNESDAY, 31 JULY 2013
