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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-06 Daily Xml
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Environmental Defender's Office

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (16:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, representing the Attorney-General, about the Environmental Defender's Office.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL: In the Governor's speech, His Excellency referred to access to justice. In the field of the environment, one of the most important institutions for providing access to justice in South Australia over the last 22 years has been the Environmental Defender's Office and its predecessor, the Environmental Law Community Advisory Service.

Two months ago, the federal Attorney-General announced that all legal aid funding to the Environmental Defender's Office in South Australia and elsewhere would be cut effective 30 June this year. As a consequence, the ability of the Environmental Defender's Office to provide free legal assistance and representation to the South Australian community on environmental matters will be severely curtailed and the office may even need to close.

My question to the minister is: what steps will the government take to ensure the financial viability of the Environmental Defender's Office and enable it to continue its vital work in South Australia? In asking this question I acknowledge that I am a founding member of the EDO, a life member of the EDO and a former employee of the EDO.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (16:38): I thank the honourable member for his most important question and acknowledge his very close longstanding association with this office. I would be pleased to refer these important questions to the Attorney-General in another place and bring back a response.

I just want to note for the record at this point in time that in fact I have been advised that it was the federal Liberal government that—I think it was just last year—defunded the EDO quite significantly. We see the Tony Abbott government gutting these really important authorities.

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