New Zealand Parliamentary Debate

Questions for Oral Answer [4424]

Legal Aid-Access to Justice

11.

KATE WILKINSON( National)

to the Minister of Justice: Does he have confidence that making legal aid available to an additional 435, 000 New Zealanders will result in speedy and inexpensive access to justice; if so, why?

Hon RICK BARKER( Minister for Courts)

on behalf of the Minister of Justice: Yes. The Legal Services Amendment Act 2006, which comes into effect on 1 March 2007, will lead to over a million New Zealanders being eligible for legal aid. The Legal Services Agency's preparations are well advanced and will ensure that legal aid continues to be delivered efficiently and cost effectively.

Christopher Finlayson

: If the Minister is confident about that, then why has he commissioned a survey to establish the demand for legal aid after increasing eligibility by 435, 000 people but before establishing that there are sufficient lawyers prepared to undertake that legal aid work?

Hon RICK BARKER

: The agency has conducted surveys before: once in 2004 and once in 2005. This is just part of an ongoing programme.

Christopher Finlayson

: How can the Minister justify the statement made by the Legal Services Agency in the Auckland District Law Society's Law News of 21 July 2006 that the agency is not aware of real supply problems generally for legal aid, when in Blenheim, for example, there are only two lawyers who are prepared to take one legal aid case a fortnight; how can that be speedy and inexpensive access to justice?

Hon RICK BARKER

: The agency has conducted a number of surveys, and so far the surveys have shown that the requirement for legal aid services is currently being met.

Peter Brown

: Noting that the expansion of legal aid is meant to be inexpensive, is the Minister able to tell the House how much the cost of providing legal aid to Ahmed Zaoui has been thus far?

Hon RICK BARKER

: I have no figures with me on that matter.

Kate Wilkinson

: How can he be confident in the legal aid system, when the Marlborough Women's Refuge and Sexual Assault Resource Centre advised: We find it almost impossible to obtain the services of a lawyer for clients who need protection orders as a matter of urgency and have been put in the position of having to assist clients to prepare their own applications, or is this Government not serious about preventing family violence?

Hon RICK BARKER

: This Government is taking the issue of family violence much more seriously than any prior Government. This Government has put more money into every agency responsible for reducing family violence. There are more police on the beat and more people in Child, Youth and Family, and we have put more resources everywhere one can think of. That member's question is simply out of order.

Kate Wilkinson

: How can he be confident in the legal aid system, when the Blenheim women's refuge advised that due to a shortage of lawyers doing legal aid work: If the respondent wishes to oppose the protection order, our client then has to speak on her own behalf in court. Many of our women find that too difficult to contemplate and simply withdraw from the process.; do those difficulties explain why there is a reduction in the number of protection orders made, despite an increase in reported family violence?

Hon RICK BARKER

: That does not explain the reduction in the number of protection orders. The member has raised a matter with which I am not familiar, and I will certainly investigate it.