George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Peris, for your question. The Australian government believes that in a resource constrained environment the legal aid dollar should be spent where it is most needed. In particular we believe that funding should be focused on front-line legal aid services. One of the misgivings that we had about the approach of the former Labor government was that so much of the legal aid dollar was spent not on front-line legal services but on policy and advocacy work, which, while it may have been worthwhile in itself, meant that there were resources devoted to expenditure other than expenditure on casework.

As a result of the legacy of debt which we have inherited from the previous government, an unprecedented legacy of debt, economies have to be found. Those economies will have to be found right across government. But, in making those economies within the Attorney-General's portfolio, my concern is to ensure that the legal aid dollar is focused on where it is most needed—that is, on front-line legal services. That applies in relation to Indigenous legal aid services as to all other legal aid services.