The Tasmanian Greens today renewed calls for increased funding to the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania and other community legal organisations.
Greens Justice spokesperson Kim Booth MP said that Labor had failed to recognise the need for increased funding and that the Abbott Government’s outrageous decision to drastically cut funding further had spun the issue into crisis.
“The Greens have been lobbying the Attorney General for the past 4 years to act on what we already knew to be an impending crisis in terms of funding for the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania,” said Mr Booth
“Labor’s failure to take this matter seriously, each and every time the Greens have brought it to the Attorney General’s attention, has come back to bite them now that the Federal Liberal Government has almost completely shut off funding.”
“With the Hodgman Liberals also ruling out an increase to legal aid or community legal groups should they be elected to power, this desperate situation has the potential to spiral out of control.”
“The Abbott minority Liberal government has taken the wrecking ball to the Environmental Defender’s Office so look out legal aid, it looks like it will be justice for the rich and damn the poor under the Liberals”
“The Australian and Tasmanian Greens are the only parties with a policy to increase legal aid funding in Tasmania.”
“The Greens will continue to work tirelessly, regardless of who is elected to power at next year’s State Election, to return the status quo and to see the most vulnerable and needy members of society have the access to justice they are entitled to.”
