Wilkinson Kate: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Wilkinson Kate: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:637;Page:7829] 
6.  
KATE WILKINSON (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: Does he have confidence that the additional estimated 435000 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) 
: 
 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. 
Kate Wilkinson 
: 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 Manawatu 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? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: I can say to the member that there are now 2963 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 Brown 
: Will the Minister be crystal clear—does he stand by his statement yesterday that an additional 435000 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 Cullen 
: You’re all right Peter. 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: As 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. 
Kate Wilkinson 
: 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? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: 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. 
Kate Wilkinson 
: 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 2012 to 1017 in the space of 12 months—which is why domestic violence victims end up representing themselves in court? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: Because the total listed legal aid provider number has increased from 2908 in 2005 to 2963 last year. 
Kate Wilkinson 
: 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 Manawatu region are undertaking family legal aid work and that only three are doing so in Central Otago? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: I refer the member to the answer to the last supplementary question. 
Kate Wilkinson 
: 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 SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Peter Brown 
: I 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. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Kate Wilkinson 
: I seek leave to table a letter from the Blenheim women’s refuge dated June last year stating that clients prepare their own protection orders and appear in court only to withdraw from the process because it is too difficult. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.