Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the very real damage that is being inflicted on communities across Australia as a result of this government's plans to cut funding for community legal centres, Aboriginal legal centres and legal aid bodies by a massive 30 per cent from 1 July next year. Every year, community legal centres help hundreds of thousands of Australians in times of need, including victims of domestic violence and financial fraud. Despite the importance of these frontline services, Malcolm Turnbull has cut $54 million from the budgets of our legal bodies. In my electorate of Newcastle, the Hunter Community Legal Centre assists over 2,300 clients each year with a wide range of complex legal matters, including family violence, tenancy, debt and family law disputes.

The Hunter Community Legal Centre, like all other community legal centres, is stretched and under-resourced. Last year alone 160,000 people were turned away from community legal centres across Australia due to capacity constraints.

That is why at the last election Labor made clear that we understand that when you cut community legal centres it is the communities that suffer. That is why we pledged a $34 million boost for community legal centres, in addition to the $43 million we had already announced as part of a landmark domestic violence package. For the Hunter Community Legal Centre that meant a much needed injection of $300,000 over three years—funds that would have helped provide representation to some of the most vulnerable people in our community at times of great need. Sadly, the Turnbull Liberal government are sticking with their plan to proceed with these cuts.

At a recent roundtable discussion I held with frontline community services in my electorate of Newcastle, the effect of these and other cuts that have already kicked in were described in saddening detail. The roundtable included Newcastle community groups such as ACON, the Intellectual Disability Rights Service, the Community Disability Alliance Hunter, Nova for Women and Children, BaptistCare and the Hunter Community Legal Centre and the St Vincent de Paul Society. It was made clear to me during these discussions that these cuts are not shouldered by just the community legal centre. People who present to frontline services often have complex, interrelated problems. So these community groups do not exist in silos. They are relying on each other all the time. When this government rip money from the community legal centres they are hurting everybody.

Access to justice is a fundamental right of all Australians, and I call on the government to reverse this funding cut and work with our community legal centres to ensure the most vulnerable get the help they need. (Time expired)