Strengthening Legal Aid funding – discussion paper
Summary of the Discussion Paper
The LNP is actively seeking the community’s feedback and input into how we can improve the services and resources available to Legal Aid Queensland.
Legal Aid’s operating budget consists of approximately $100 million a year made up in Federal, State and trust fund contributions.
Because of the Bligh Government’s poor management of funding allocations, Legal Aid Queensland has had to draw on the Legal Practitioners in Trust Account Fund, leaving a serious budgetary shortfall that is undermining legal aid services.
The LNP strongly acknowledges that Legal Aid plays an important role in the justice process and any cuts of this magnitude will force thousands of defendants to represent themselves and further tie up our courts.
Queensland already has some of the most congested courts in the country and cuts to any part of the system, especially Legal Aid, would compound delays.
Guilty or innocent, no-one’s best interests will be served by long and drawn out waits to access the court system.
Legal Aid is a cornerstone of a fair and equitable justice system and we need to ensure that it is adequately funded.
Background information
The failure of Bligh and Labor to properly fund Legal Aid Queensland has led to a crisis in our Justice system that could bring our courts to a grinding halt and could result in significant miscarriages of justice.
As of January 1, means testing has been re-introduced for Queenslanders applying for legal aid services, except for people appearing in Ipswich and Brisbane courts. The higher standard for approval of Legal Aid means that the many Queenslanders will miss out on advice and will have to appear in court alone.
However even these cuts have failed to secure the future of Legal Aid, aboriginal justice groups and the Queensland State Law Library. The Bligh Labor Government’s own figures confirm the states legal trust funds are into the red to the tune of $25 million for the current financial year.
Improving Legal Aid Services discussion paper