Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Monday, the ANU released a very important evaluation on a project that a local legal centre had been conducting. The project is called 'Why didn't you ask?' It is a project of the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre based in Bendigo, and its purpose is to work with families at risk of family violence. The project has proven to be very successful. The analysis provided by the Australian National University calls on all governments, state and federal, to continue to fund our legal centres and services to help continue the great work that this particular program has been doing.

The Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre family violence legal team in Bendigo, Echuca and Maryborough courts has taught many women who arrive at court, who may not know, what their rights are. Funding for the 'Why didn't you ask?' program allowed the Loddon Campaspe community legal family violence centre to extend its support work from three to five courts in our region, including doing work in Kyneton and Swan Hill. All the analysis and all the suggestions is this early intervention and support for families works. I call on the government to continue to fund and support our legal centres and not continue with the cuts that they tried to proceed with last year.