Central Land Council

VANSTONE TARGETS ABORIGINAL LEGAL SERVICES

Aboriginal legal services throughout Australia may be replaced by private law firms if changes proposed by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Amanda Vanstone are adopted.
The Minister has proposed that the services be put out to tender by private legal firms as a way of “ensuring that Indigenous people get value for money”.
The idea has been floated for some time but the release on the internet of a document, “Notes on the Exposure Draft for the Tendering of Legal Services”, by the Government came as a surprise to Aboriginal legal services around the country.
Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service Principal Lawyer David Bamber said that the proposal had serious implications for CAALAS clients.
“The major point is that provision of legal services could not be profitable without a major reduction of service. The introduction of means testing and reduction in the number of types of matter for which aid is granted services such as our after-hours services, a lot of our field services and services to the bush would surely be cut,” he said.
If the changes suggested in the Government’s document are followed, then people charged with trivial offences like drunkenness and traffic offences would no longer be represented.
These types of offences account for 62 per cent of Aboriginal people in the Alice Springs jail. If legal aid is removed for such offences it is likely the number of Aboriginal people in prison will increase.
The government document suggests that initial legal advice can be given face to face or by phone. Repeat offenders of certain categories of crime such as violence, assault or the breach of a restraining order may be refused representation altogether.
Ms Vanstone also wants to see means testing introduced.
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