By MARLENE MILLOTT
VICTORIAN Australian of the Year and family violence campaigner Rosie Batty has spoken out in support of the Yarra Ranges branch of the Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC), which is facing closure following federal cuts to funding.
Ms Batty said it was “disappointing” to hear about the cuts to the Yarra Ranges ECLC, which is located in Healesville. She said that accessible legal services were vital to vulnerable people in the community.
“Access to legal support and advice has to be accessible to the everyday person in the local communities because ultimately professional legal systems are just outside a lot of people’s reach,” she said.
Ms Batty said these services were not available to her after her son was murdered by his father at a cricket ground in February this year.
“My journey was a very isolating journey, a very overwhelming journey and the legal avenue was really not available to me … I didn’t have bucket loads of money to spend on legal representation,” she said.
She urged local politicians to make themselves aware of the importance of the ECLC’s work.
“It’s important for the local politicians … to actually inform themselves about what they do at those centres and why they are really important. If they aren’t aware of the need then they should inform themselves.”
The Yarra Ranges Centre opened in February this year, after the Labor Government announced Commonwealth funding of $350,000 over four years. The Abbott Government has since announced that funding will be withdrawn from July 2015.
Ahead of the State Election, Eildon Labor candidate Sally Brennan had pledged funding to keep the centre open.
The Coalition had not announced any plans for the Eildon electorate, but was in discussion about strategies to support victims of family violence.
At the ECLC’s annual general meeting on Tuesday 18 November, the organisation reported that since opening in February, the Yarra Ranges Centre had helped over 300 people.
Of these, 47 per cent were matters regarding family violence.
ECLC CEO Michael Smith said the organisation would do all it could to keep the Yarra Ranges centre open.
“There are many clients who have said without the local centre in their local community they would not have come forward for help, he said.
“We are determined to keep the centre open and we are doing all we can to make that happen.”
