Page 2062 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 8 September 1992
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secondly, where a year has elapsed between the placement of the notice or the charge and the exercising of that power. It is, in that sense, a very similar power to that exercised by mortgagees over a property where a mortgagor has defaulted. There is no requirement for a court order to be part of this process. In other words, the commission does not have to go to court and say, "I have a debt I can enforce against this applicant and I therefore would like the court to grant me the power to seize his property, sell it up and recover my debt".
Madam Speaker, it is important to note that that is a very extensive power. It is a power akin to the power of a court to grant particular recovery of debts. In seeking legal aid, therefore, a person is in many respects signing documents which place on that person a similar kind of obligation to that which one might incur by signing a mortgage. This is a very extensive power; but we on this side of the house support the commission's capacity to use that kind of power, because obviously it marshals the resources of the commission effectively and makes sure that those who are in genuine need of assistance from time to time have resources at their disposal when they make application for legal aid. But it does highlight the very clear need for the Legal Aid Commission to spell out to applicants for legal aid the serious consequences of their making that application and agreeing to the conditions which accompany a grant of aid. In other words, people ought to be aware that in seeking aid - in getting, as it were, a grant of money from the Government - they are also, in effect, in certain cases undertaking obligations which are akin to those undertaken when signing a mortgage. That will require a very clear set of guidelines in force and in use in the Legal Aid Commission.
This Bill provides that the commission may garnishee money held by a solicitor on behalf of a former applicant to recover or to satisfy a debt owed to the commission. Again, as a link in this chain, the commission does not have to go to a court and say, "I have a debt to be enforced against this applicant".
Debate interrupted.
ADJOURNMENT
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! It being 9.30 pm, I propose the question:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
South Africa
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (9.30): This morning, Madam Speaker, when I rose and looked at the Canberra Times I felt a great deal of disquiet about the headline about what is occurring in South Africa. The Liberals might well laugh, because it is one of their number who is about to bring great shame on their Assembly. Having read through the article in the Canberra Times, I learned about the automatic weapons fire which had been directed at demonstrators for a full five minutes. Of course, many died as a result of that attack on demonstrators. There were statements like "Most of the demonstrators dived for the ground", "Soldiers fired whenever anyone tried to stand up", and so on and so forth. All of these sorts of things really sickened me.
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