6. KATE WILKINSON (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Justice
Does he have confidence that the additional estimated 435,000 New Zealanders eligible for legal aid as of today will have proper, speedy, and inexpensive access to justice; if so, why?
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister of Justice) Link to this
Yes. I have confidence that the Legal Services Agency and dedicated members of the legal profession will continue to work together constructively, to ensure that legal aid services are delivered to New Zealanders most in need.
How can the Minister be confident of access to justice for all New Zealanders, when women in Blenheim still have to represent themselves in court to obtain protection orders, when women in the Manawatū also have to represent themselves in court to obtain protection orders; and can he possibly understand why many women simply find this too difficult and withdraw from the process, having been denied proper access to justice?
I can say to the member that there are now 2,963 listed legal aid providers, which is slightly more than in the previous year. But the problem she highlights is that as with so many other professions and services in a country with a relatively small population, from time to time and in some areas there will be issues of supply of service. This is something the Legal Services Agency is looking into, and certainly in the area of domestic violence it is looking at some alternative strategies in order to try to overcome the problem.
Peter BrownWill the Minister be crystal clear—does he stand by his statement yesterday that an additional 435,000 New Zealanders will be eligible for legal aid; and given his department does not record whether those in receipt of legal aid are New Zealanders, will his new thresholds enable foreign nationals additionally to claim legal aid?
Hon Dr Michael CullenAs my colleague says, the member is safe. I can say to the member that the criteria in terms of residential status is not changing, but the thresholds are. Indeed, it does mean that hundreds of thousands of additional, generally low-income and modest-income New Zealanders will now be eligible for support.
How can the Minister be confident of access to justice for all New Zealanders when in Central Otago one of the three family legal aid lawyers advised that in the space of only one week she had two desperate women clients needing help, but whom she could not help because of a conflict of interest—one, sadly, was a woman aged less than 20 years requiring a domestic protection order; she had a young baby, access only to a mobile phone with no call credit available, neither driver’s licence nor vehicle, and at best a lawyer 100 to 200 kilometres away—and how does making more people eligible for legal aid possibly help these women?
I will deal with the second part of the question first. Making legal aid available to more New Zealanders is self-explanatory. It means that a great number of people who yesterday were not able to access legal aid, today are able, in terms of their eligibility. Secondly, those of us who live in provincial New Zealand know that it is often the case that in some areas from time to time there will be some difficulty with specialist services. That is something the Legal Services Agency is looking at right now, and is working to help resolve this particular problem.
How does the Minister reconcile his statement on 19 February 2007, in relation to legal aid lawyers, that the evidence is that the number of participating lawyers has been relatively steady, when the number of family legal aid lawyers has plummeted from 2,012 to 1,017 in the space of 12 months—which is why domestic violence victims end up representing themselves in court?
Because the total listed legal aid provider number has increased from 2,908 in 2005 to 2,963 last year.
How can the Minister expect us to believe that the number of participating lawyers has been relatively steady, when he has correspondence dating back to March last year that show that in Blenheim only two lawyers are prepared to take one legal aid case a fortnight, that only three lawyers in the Manawatū region are undertaking family legal aid work, and that only three are doing so in Central Otago?
I seek leave to table the Morning Report radio transcript that recorded that a woman withdrew her protection order application because of a lack of legal representation, only to be abused again by her partner.
Madam SPEAKERI seek leave to table an answer to a written question confirming that the Legal Services Agency does not even record whether a recipient of legal aid is a New Zealander or a foreign national.