For more on the effects of the crisis see eg ChanCarrieCunneenChris, ‘Federal Programs for Access to Justice under a Conservative Australian Government’ (1998) 10Current Issues in Criminal Justice15–35.
2.
MelvilleRose, My Time is Not a Gift to Government: An Exploratory Study of NSW Community Legal Centre Volunteers (Institute of Social Change & Critical Inquiry, University of Wollongong2002) 10.
3.
CamilleriMargaret, ‘Will the Real Pro Bono Please Stand Up?’ (Paper presented at the National Community Legal Centre Conference, Melbourne, 2–4 September 2002).
4.
NooneMary Anne, ‘Australian Community Legal Centres — A Mid-life Crisis’, (1997) 22(1) Alternative Law Journal25–9.
5.
According to Regan, ‘It is common knowledge that in the 1996 budget the Commonwealth cut $33 million from its legal aid budget for each of the following three years. This represented a cut of approximately 20% to the Commonwealth's legal aid expenditure.’ (ReganFrancis, ‘Rolls Royce or Rundown 1970s Kingswood: Australia's Legal Aid in Comparative Perspective’ (1997) 22(5) Alternative Law Journal225. Also, as Chan and Cunneen (above n 3, 20) note, ‘The Justice Statement introduced by the previous Labor Government in May 1995 specifically set aside $160 million for policies and program designed to ensure access to justice … it appears that cuts by the current Coalition government in the area of access to justice [including legal aid] … have amounted to $320 million.’
6.
NACLC, Community Legal Centres in Australia (2003) National Association of Community Legal Centres <http://www.naclc.org.au> at 22 May 2003.
7.
As seen above, the Labor government which preceded the coalition government had modestly funded access to justice programs. As part of this program of improving access to justice, it had begun to allocate small increases in funding for legal aid (in the order of about $16 million per year). However, these increases did little to alleviate the legal aid crisis. Since the election of the coalition government, the crisis has grown in enormity. Ibid.
8.
The continuing legal aid crisis has triggered yet another inquiry: The Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs is currently conducting an Inquiry into Legal Aid, which is due to report in March 2004.
9.
NACLC, above n 6 [emphasis added].
10.
Noone, above n 4.
11.
Ibid.
12.
WilliamsDaryl, ‘Keynote Address’ (speech delivered at the Legal Aid Forum – Towards 2010, Canberra, April 1999).
13.
Ibid.
14.
Attorney General's Department, Commonwealth Community Legal Services Programme (2003) Attorney General's Department <http://www.ag.gov.au/www/familylawHome.nsf> at 22 May 2003.
15.
Williams, above n 14.
16.
For some of the background to the establishment of the National Pro Bono Resource Centre in August 2002, see National Pro Bono Task Force, Recommended Action Plan for National Co-ordination and Development of Pro Bono Legal Services (2001) National Pro Bono Resource Centre, <http://www.nationalprobono.org.au/> at 22 May 2003. For details of the activities that the National Centre proposes to undertake during the year 2003–2004, see National Pro Bono Resource Centre, Supporting and Promoting Pro Bono in Australia (2003) National Pro Bono Resource Centre, <http://www.nationalprobono.org.au/> at 22 May 2003.
17.
AndersonJillRenoufGordon, ‘Legal Services “for the public good”’ (2003) 28(1) Alternative Law Journal13. See also RenoufGordon, ‘A Client Centred Approach to Access to Justice’ (Revised Paper for the NSW Law and Justice Foundation ‘Access to Justice’ Workshop, Parliament House, Sydney, July 2002).
18.
AndersonRenouf, above n 17, 13.
19.
National Pro Bono Resource Centre, Pro Bono, Conflict and Government (2003) National Pro Bono Resource Centre, <http://www.nationalprobono.org.au/> at 21 May 2003.
20.
Noone, above n 4.
21.
Community law matters include consumer protection, victims of crime, compensation for injury, court support, credit and debt, and aspects of the employment relationship.
22.
Criminal injuries compensation law, which is practised by some commercial law firms in jurisdictions such as South Australia, may be a partial exception to this generalisation. The fees received by these firms from the government for practising in this area of the law do not cover costs.
