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LAWYERS across Australia have echoed calls from Bendigo Legal Aid to address “turmoil” in the legal aid service, after statistics revealed 45,000 people have been forced to represent themselves in court since 2009.
The Law Council of Australia launched its Legal Aid Matters campaign on Monday, holding speeches and public rallies in capital cities.
The campaign came a month after Bendigo Legal Aid outlined the “crushing demand” facing their Bendigo-based lawyers, which they say is far worse in regional areas.
Stuthridge Legal director Luke Docherty, who also works as a duty solicitor in Bendigo, said the system had been “chronically underfunded” for years.
“It has been an issue and will become an even bigger issue with the expected increase in family violence related matters reaching and returning to the courts,” he said.
“From a criminal jurisdiction perspective the number of people representing themselves has increased due to the tighter restrictions on eligibility for Legal Aid.
“The increased demand for services is not being met with the required increase in funding.”
Mr Docherty said tightened eligibility for Legal Aid created delays in cases, adding pressure to busy duty solicitors and police prosecutors, and was forcing people to plead guilty when they did not need to.
BLA managing lawyer Marcus Williams said old court houses, delays in County and Federal Court matters, and a lack of specialist courts created a divide between justice in the city and in the country.
From 2012 to 2015, the number of people receiving Legal Aid in Bendigo increased from 5658 to 7225.
Victorian Legal Aid called for an additional $72 million annually, including $42 million from the Victorian government, to address the growing problem.
They have now been joined by the national body, who will lobby for an extra $350 million in the lead-up to the federal election.
The Law Council of Australia released statistics showing almost 10,000 people per year were fronting court alone, without access to Legal Aid.
A further 160,000 people were being turned away from Community Legal Centres, figures showed.
Law Council of Australia president Stuart Clark said people were being denied access to justice.
“Deep cuts by successive federal governments now means that thousands of ordinary Australians are being denied justice,” he said.
“Lives are being ruined because people who encounter legal problems cannot afford a lawyer to present their case effectively.
“Legal aid funding is now so scarce that even many Australians living below the poverty line aren’t eligible.”
Among their demands are an immediate $200 million injection of funds into Legal Aid.