Please distribute this to your friends/networks FITZROY LEGAL SERVICE/COMMUNITY LEGAL CENTRES We've won the battle But not the war! For nearly 30 years Community Legal Centres like Fitzroy Legal Service have fought for justice in our community. For the past 3 years your legal centres have been subjected to a Howard Government 'Review'. This Review threatened the continued existence of community legal centres as we know them. It talked about closures/regionalisation/amalgamation Just recently the Howard Government backed off! The Review is over and we are no longer under immediate threat! The battle has been won? But the war is not over! COMMUNITY LEGAL CENTRES ARE STILL EXTREMELY UNDER FUNDED! PEOPLE ARE BEING DENIED ACCESS TO JUSTICE! PUBLIC MEETING All Welcome! COME TO GET UPDATED AND DISCUSS THE FUTURE Thursday 12 July 6 pm Yarra Community Youth Centre, 156 Napier St, Fitzroy For further info phone 9419 3744 Find out more about Community Legal Centres (see below) SOME FACTS ABOUT COMMUNITY LEGAL CENTRES? Community Legal Centres (CLCs) are a vital part of our justice system. The Fitzroy Legal Service was the first community legal centre in Australia. For over 28 years CLCs have been independent of government and in this time they have fearlessly advocated on behalf of the poorest people in our community. Most people we help are on Centrelink payments and live below the poverty line. Many have added disadvantages of illiteracy, English as a second language or disabilities. In the last year alone 31 CLCs in Victoria assisted over 50,000 individuals and all this was done with only $6.2 million in government funding. That is only $1.31 for each Victorian! Compare this to $1611 per Victorian spent on health services (96/97) or the $402 per Victorian spent on "Public order". CLCs are such good value because they have a lot of dedicated volunteers. Fitzroy Legal Service has over 100 legal and non-legal volunteers. Our 5 night a week free night service is staffed totally by volunteers! The value of the volunteer contribution to CLCs in Victoria is about $8 million?more than the Government puts in! CLCs are community based and managed and accountable to the communities they serve. You can become a member of Fitzroy Legal Service and attend meetings to have input about how the Service runs. CLCs value their independence from Victoria Legal Aid and Government. They are separate from Victoria Legal Aid (the government provider of legal assistance). But cuts to Victoria Legal Aid by the Howard Government have meant that more and more people are having to rely upon Community Legal Centres (CLCs) for help. The Howard Government cut Legal Aid by $120M ?a third of the legal aid budget?over a three year period (1996-2000). CLCs have been in the front line of dealing with the inhumane damage created by these savage cuts. Most CLCs are forced to operate with 3 or less staff. Staff don't get paid very much but work hard because they are dedicated to providing justice for all not just the rich! Many centres have old computers and other equipment that regularly breaks down! Despite chronic underfunding CLCs provide top quality service. We fight injustice and get great results for our clients and our community. We are committed not only to looking at individual problems but also to campaigning to change the law and legal systems so it is fairer for everyone! -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink