New community legal service for Peel region

1/12/04
A new Community Legal Centre in Mandurah will be a major boost for Peel residents, improving access to legal advice and assistance.
Attorney General Jim McGinty today officially opened the new service and said it would significantly improve access to justice for low income and disadvantaged individuals and groups in Mandurah and surrounding districts.
"Community legal centres provide a valuable service for people who cannot afford to pay for their own legal assistance," Mr McGinty said.
"The funding has enabled the current voluntary service to significantly expand to provide the Peel community with legal advice, minor assistance, casework, community legal education and law reform."
The Peel Community Legal Service will receive $822,600 over three years to establish the new centre.
Three full-time and two part-time staff will be employed at the Peel centre, including a solicitor, paralegal, co-ordinator and community legal education worker.
Outreach services to Murray, Boddington, Serpentine and Waroona are expected to begin in March, 2005.
Previously, Peel residents only had access to legal assistance through a voluntary service, which was established in 2000 by the Peel Community Legal Service.
Mr McGinty said the whole Peel community would benefit from the new legal centre.
"Establishing a community legal centre in Mandurah will give Peel residents better access to legal help, leading to quicker trials and reducing the stress on victims of crime," he said.
"I am pleased that we are able to improve the efficiency of the justice system and make legal services available to all Western Australians."
The Attorney General said he was confident the new centre would continue the positive work done by the voluntary Peel Community Legal Service and the legal community in Mandurah.
The new centre is located at Charlotte Lodge, 2 Sutton Street, Mandurah.
Attorney General's office: 9220 5000