Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a member of parliament, I'm approached regularly by constituents having issues with our justice system. My office fields calls and emails on such topics regularly as well, but this is not new for me. I started out in legal practice over a decade ago, working in a suburban practice originally established by my grandfather. There were many occasions when clients would come to me looking for assistance, and I would have to tell them that, yes, it looked like they had a valid claim and could be successful in court, but that we should try through negotiation to get back those funds they were entitled to. But, when push came to shove, the combination of even my lowly junior legal fees and court costs would amount to more than the value of their claim and it would not be worth pushing the matter through the courts. This sad situation is unfortunately all too common. We regularly had clients in the area of family law where, with all the goodwill in the world on their behalf, an obstinate former partner with really no prospect of success in their claim for more property or more access to their children would hold out and delay, causing our client to have to spend thousands more dollars on legal fees.

Instead, our justice system should treat people fairly and equally, offer results that are fair, be accessible to people who need it, respond to people's different needs and have enough support so that it can work well. The thing is that, while we do have a Rolls-Royce justice system in terms of its integrity and quality of outcomes, this also makes it quite inaccessible to many Australians. Justice that is inaccessible is effectively justice denied, which fundamentally undermines the principle of the rule of law that underlines our democracy.

In particular, people who experience disadvantage—being those who are even more likely to need to access our justice system—should not miss out. The laws, policies and systems should not be a barrier that stops people who experience disadvantage from accessing justice. While we have systems like Legal Aid, community legal centres, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services and family and relationship services, the honest truth is that state and federal governments—in particular, Liberal federal governments—have chronically underfunded these services, to the extent that they are servicing but a fraction of those who need to be helped.

This is why, in my view, the Law Council of Australia's Justice Project, launched this month, is so important. This project is being conducted in collaboration with law societies, institutes and bar associations across Australia, and is chaired by former Chief Justice of Australia the Hon. Robert French, AC. I quote from the Justice Project:

The aim of The Justice Project is to understand the issues that stop people from accessing justice. We believe that all people should be treated equally by the law and be able to use the justice system and would like to ensure that everyone has equal access to justice.

The Law Council is currently conducting consultations with communities around Australia as part of this project. It wants to hear from everyday Australians about their interactions with the law, what barriers they face and also recognise the unsung heroes involved in providing that access. I encourage everyone to get involved in this vital project and for government to heed its lessons.