Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Attorney-General. Chronic underfunding of community legal centres is forcing centres to turn away more than a thousand Australians every day. Not only did the budget fail to provide desperately needed funds to address workforce shortages and increasing demand; it does not provide commitment to funding beyond June 2025 in the forward estimates. Tasmania has the lowest ratio of legal practitioners to population of any jurisdiction in this country, with a lack of lawyers placing more pressure on the legal assistance sector. At the same time, Commonwealth funding for community legal centres has not kept pace with the population growth in Tasmania. Why is the government neglecting to appropriately fund community legal centres in Tasmania and across the rest of the nation?