Closure of Roma Community Legal Service outrages locals

Local lawyer Megan Alley, Emanate Legal, said there was legal help in Roma, however the Roma Community Legal Service provided a free, specialised service for domestic and family violence.

“Our specialisation is not in those areas, and Toowoomba is four hours away. It is sad and you do need that free legal service in the community.”

Member for Warrego Ann Leahy described the move as “jobs for the boys”. 

The service, which operated for 29 years and covered a region including 320 post codes, reallocated this month to a Toowoomba-based legal service where the president was a former failed ALP election candidate.

“It was only last month that the Women’s Legal Service was telling a Queensland Parliamentary Committee that the earlier women can get legal advice the better in domestic violence situations,” Ms Leahy said.

“The Committee was told if they (women) can get the legal advice early it is really quite an important component in relation to safety planning for women.”

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said reaching out to women in the bush who were experiencing domestic violence was a key priority for the Palaszczuk Government. 

However, all citizens of Roma would be better served by the Advocacy Support Centre, she said. 

“The new arrangements are a significant increase in the level of legal assistance services that are available to that community.”

Community legal centres will be taking a hit in 2017 when the federal government slashes its funding by 29 per cent across the country - equating to $30 million.

“We will continue to lobby the federal government to maintain funding to Queensland’s 37 community legal centres,” Ms D’Ath said.

Meanwhile, recently announced federal funding will see funding of $15 million over three years to the same services.

Women’s Legal Services coordinator Rosslyn Monro said her service had been turning away on in 10 women because of the increase in demand, but the state government granted $100,000 last month.

Although grateful for the extra funding, the service needs an ongoing increase of $500,000 a year to answer the 700 per cent increase in calls.

Minister for Communities, Women and Youth Shannon Fentiman said $15.5 million was being invested for new specialist services in Townsville, Charters Towers, Ingham and Ayr. 

Nearly $5 million in extra funding was being provided for services across north and central Queensland and this included offering support services to Longreach for the first time, she said.

“Domestic and family violence is a tragedy which affects all corners of our state. I know that women in rural and remote areas face additional challenges in dealing with domestic and family violence,” Ms Fentiman said.

KPMG was currently undertaking a specialist domestic and family violence service audit of our current support provisions across the state to ensure there were no service gaps for women and children experiencing domestic violence, she added.

The report is due to report back in November.

“We will be investing $21.3 million to provide accommodation at 55 shelters across the state, which includes funding across regional and rural Queensland.”

Meanwhile, Member for Gregory Lachlan Millar said refuge options for victims of domestic violence seeking safety in rural Queensland were extremely limited and must be given more attention by the Palaszczuk Government.

Mr Millar said he feared that victims of domestic violence in Gregory could be placed in a sad competition against local women for refuge accommodation in our nearest coastal centres.

It was already regrettable that the victimised had to uproot their lives to escape their persecutors, he said.

It was often a safer option for women and their children to travel to refuges on the coast as in the past refuges in small towns had been quickly discovered by persecutors.

“Our families need to know they have funded places in larger centres such as Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton,” he said.