Coalition for Access to Justice formed
By Karen Fredericks
BRISBANE — A rally of 200 legal aid and community legal services workers and supporters on March 14 voted to form the Queensland Coalition for Access to Justice (QCAJ) to fight federal budget cuts and pressure the state government to fund legal centres.
"This issue is not essentially about money; it's about this government's lack of commitment to human rights", Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman told the rally.
Merran Lawler, convener of the Queensland Association of Independent Legal Services and coordinator of the Caxton Community Legal Centre, said that the federal government's policy of "divide and rule" needed to be countered by a "coalition of all forces committed to access to justice for those who can't afford to pay".
Three community legal centres — the Prisoners Legal Service and centres in Toowoomba and Inala — will close before June 30 if the state government does not replace the grants withdrawn by Canberra, Lawler said.
Geoff Atkinson, solicitor for the National Aboriginal and Islander Legal Service Secretariat, reminded the crowd that Aboriginal and Islander legal services around Australia had already suffered cuts and closures.
"Our funds for civil matters are gone", he said. "We have to say sorry, we can't help you find out why your son died in prison, because that's a civil matter."
Legal Aid commissioner Stephanie Belfrage drew thunderous applause for her condemnation of the lies told by John Howard in the 1996 election campaign when he promised to maintain current levels of funding for legal aid.
The rally was also addressed by speakers from the Queensland Law Society and Bar Association, state Labor shadow attorney general Matt Foley and Australian Democrat Senator John Woodley.
Rally organiser and Prisoners Legal Service solicitor Karen Fletcher told Green Left Weekly that the QCAJ has until May to force Canberra to back down on the cuts and to force the state government to provide funds. "We are preparing a series of actions and activities which will involve trade unions, students, community groups, the unemployed, Aboriginal and Islander organisations and all who are under attack from governments at all levels", she said.
The QCAJ can be contacted through Karen Fletcher at the Prisoners Legal Service on (07) 3846 3384.