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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-02 Daily Xml
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Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:51): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General regarding the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: It was reported in InDaily on 27 May this year that the Law Society in a submission to the state government ahead of the release of the state budget called for an inquiry to be conducted into the demand for Aboriginal legal services across the state. The Law Society has reportedly asked the state government to commit to providing funding to the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement on top of what is already provided by the commonwealth to ensure that the organisation can keep up with demand. My questions to the Attorney-General are:

1. What level of demand is the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement currently experiencing?

2. Will the Attorney-General establish an inquiry into the demand for Aboriginal legal services in South Australia?

3. Has the Attorney-General assured Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement leaders, including CEO Chris Larkin and principal legal officer Chris Charles, that their concerns with regard to the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement's capacity to provide services, including on the APY lands, will be addressed?

4. Is the Attorney-General confident that the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement is sufficiently resourced to meet the current and future demand for its services?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:52): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in this area. Certainly, the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement has a proud history of providing legal services to Aboriginal people. I think, if my memory serves me correctly, the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement was founded initially in 1972 and became incorporated in 1973, and it has been providing decades and decades of support and help for Aboriginal people across South Australia.

In relation to funding for the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, the member I think alluded to the fact that there is significant federal funding, and I can inform the chamber that the ALRM receives approximately $33 million over a five-year period from the National Legal Assistance Partnership, between 2020 and 2025, to provide culturally appropriate legal information, advice and advocacy to Aboriginal South Australians.

In addition, the ALRM does receive separate grant funding, and I am happy to go away and find whether there is more information about separate grant funding from the commonwealth. I can also inform the honourable member that the ALRM receives separate grant funding from the state government to deliver other programs, such as the Aboriginal Justice Advocacy Service. Certainly, the ALRM has raised, on a number of occasions, issues in relation to the adequacy of the National Legal Assistance Partnership funding and what that means for their services.

I have a scheduled meeting with the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement coming up soon, where I will discuss these issues further. But I do acknowledge the work the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement has done for almost 50 years in this state.

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