THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Attorney-General
Minister for Emergency Management
Special Minister of State
Minister for the Public Service and Integrity
THE HON SHAYNE NEUMANN MP
Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney-General
Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing
MEDIA RELEASE
FUNDING BOOST FOR NSW ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC and Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney-General Shayne Neumann today announced an annual funding increase of $300,000 for the environmental defenders office EDO NSW, its largest ever funding boost.
The additional Federal Government funding comes as the New South Wales Governments cuts to legal aid have ended funding for public interest environmental cases.
From July 1, legal aid will no longer be available for such cases in NSW, ending a 27-year tradition of funding major public interest environmental cases.
Environmental defenders offices play a crucial role in protecting Australia's unique and fragile environment, Mr Dreyfus said.
EDO NSW has a proud record as a community legal centre specialising in public interest environmental law.
Sadly, the O'Farrell Liberal Government has a history of cutting funding to community legal services, Mr Neumann said.
Now its the turn of community groups seeking to protect their community and environment to feel the effects of those cuts.
Environmental defenders offices provide free legal advice to people who need help with matters relating to the environmental, planning and health impacts of proposed developments. They also play a vital role in environmental law reform, policy development and public advocacy.
In the early 1990s, EDO NSW helped save vital forests and brought on the first case in Australia to consider the impacts of climate change on a proposed development.
More recently, it has helped to achieve better environmental outcomes for coal-affected communities, and turned back unsustainable developments, such as an abalone farm in Port Stephens.
The Rudd Labor Government is committed to improving access to justice and its total nation-wide contribution to legal assistance services over the four years from 2013-14 will be more than $1.4 billion.
WEDNESDAY, 3 JULY 2013
