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 TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
Member for Sydney
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
FUNDING BOOST FOR REDFERN LEGAL CENTRE
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC today announced that the Redfern Legal Centre will receive a one-off funding boost of $60,000 to support its financial counselling credit and debt service.
Mr Dreyfus visited the centre to make the announcement with the Member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek.
The Redfern Legal Centre plays an invaluable role in the delivery of legal and financial counselling services to disadvantaged members of the community, Mr Dreyfus said.
Redfern Legal Centre has provided a credit and debt service since it was founded in 1977.
This funding boost recognises the important work the centre does to help vulnerable families address credit and debt issues early, before they escalate and lead to repossession of property or even bankruptcy, Ms Plibersek said.
The Government is committed to improving access to justice and our total nation-wide contribution to legal assistance services over the next four years will be $1.35 billion, Mr Dreyfus said.
We understand the importance of ensuring that all Australians have access to justice, and thats why we have been working to restore funding to community legal services following the savage cuts to these vital services by the Howard Government.
The Redfern Legal Centre operates both a face-to-face financial counselling service and a state-wide telephone advice service for financial counsellors.
These financial counselling services help people in financial difficulty avoid falling into deeper trouble, and steer them away from the stress and hardship of the court system, Mr Dreyfus said.
The Centre publishes free on the internet a number of fact sheets on credit and debt issues including negotiating with creditors, repossession of motor vehicles and voluntary bankruptcy. More information can be found on the Redfern Legal Centres website.
TUESDAY, 23 APRIL 2013
