Launceston Community Legal Centre, which has this financial year already turned away 530 local Bass residents without assistance, will be facing further cuts if this Government does not act immediately.

Ross Hart said “This number will be much worse from 1 July thanks to cuts and neglect by George Brandis and the Turnbull Government.

Community Legal Centres help hundreds of thousands of people around Australia in need of free legal assistance who do not qualify for legal aid. They are on the frontline in the battle against domestic violence and assist people with problems as diverse as Centrelink debt, tenancy disputes and employment issues.”

Mr Hart also said “Launceston Community Legal Centre, its dedicated staff and legal practitioner volunteers have been helping our local community for 31 years. Now it is set to lose 30 per cent of its funding, which will seriously jeopardise its ability to operate.”

“Launceston Community Legal Centre and other community legal centres in Tasmania are facing immense changes in 2017-2018 with a cut in Federal funding of almost $500,000 Statewide.

“Community Legal Centres are fundamental in providing legal assistance to ordinary people. Our clients do not have the resources to get timely legal advice anywhere else. If we reduce community legal centres – we reduce access to justice for ordinary people” said Nicky Snare.

Mr Hart said “we know that for every dollar of government funding the return on investment is more than seventeen dollars, that’s value for money”.

“Instead what Senator Brandis is proposing will hurt this community and will be a financial drain on our local economy, an economy that needs to be more productive not less”.

When in government, Labor delivered Community Legal Centres a funding injection worth more than $70 million over four years. Now George Brandis is taking that funding away and trying to blame Labor.

“This is an Attorney-General so incompetent, and so out of touch, that he has barely been able to bring himself to visit more than a handful of Community Legal Centres.

Labor calls on the government to reverse these cruel cuts as a matter of urgency.

Vulnerable people in Bass are at risk, and I will continue to advocate on behalf of Launceston Community Legal Centre.”
ROSS HART MP FEDERAL MEMBER FOR BASS