Due to the government moving to Phase 4 of the COVID-19 response plan, Street Law staff are no longer working remotely.
Street Law considers the health and safety of our clients, staff and volunteers as a paramount concern. Following the government moving to phase 4 of the Covid 19 Recovery plan Street Law is no longer working remotely and we have all returned according to a plan of action developed over the past month.
As of Monday 6 July, Street Law will be commencing attending clinics at St Pat’s, Passages and Tranby. For more details of these outreach clinics, please follow this link
Street Law is a free outreach legal service for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness in Western Australia.
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Returning to the office and a new financial year!
As of this Monday 29 June, Street Law is no longer working remotely. On Wednesday, our staff had our first meeting since the return, where we discussed and planned for the new financial year.
As more workplaces return to office around WA, we are looking ahead to the new financial year as a time to adjust to a new working environment that addresses the reduction and prevention of the spread of COVID-19. While we are keen to return to some much-needed normality, we acknowledge that we are returning to a ‘new normal’, where safety and health precautions are more important than ever.
As of next week, we will commence attending the following outreach legal clinic locations:
Fantastic news! Major legislative reform has been achieved. The most important changes are the establishment of a Work and Development Permit Scheme to create genuine alternative options for disadvantaged people to pay off their fines, limiting the ability to hand out prison terms for unpaid fines so that it can only be ordered by the Court, and ending the detrimental effects of license suspensions on people in remote communities, who rely disproportionately on their ability to drive.
With members from the Social Reinvestment WA our Principal Solicitor, Ann-Margaret Walsh, attended Parliament House to celebrate. Street Law congratulates everyone who has worked tirelessly for this achievement.
Thank you Georgia!
Yesterday, we said farewell to Georgia, our Ashurst secondee who has been working with us for the last 10 weeks.
Georgia’s time here has been unique because we have been working remotely for the entire duration of her secondment! Therefore, she was required to adapt not only to a new legal environment, but new working arrangements that were unfamiliar to all of us.
Georgia had the following to say about her time with Street Law:
“I’ve really loved my time volunteering at Street Law. The services that Street Law provides are so essential and it was wonderful to be able to help provide legal assistance to those who would not otherwise have access to it.”
Despite the challenging circumstances in which Georgia joined us, she has made an invaluable contribution to Street Law and its clients. She was a hard-working and diligent member of the team, and was always willing to help out other people. She will be missed!
We would also like to thank Ashurst for their continuing support.
“No person should be imprisoned because of poverty” – Debbie Kilroy, CEO of Sisters Inside.
Yesterday, ABC Radio aired a segment featuring the State government’s push to remove the ability of fine debtors to be imprisoned for outstanding fines. The current legislation provides that people who have not repaid their outstanding court fines may be imprisoned in order to pay off the outstanding amount, and has had a disproportionate impact on Indigenous Australians. WA is the last jurisdiction in the country where such a law is in place.
As explored in the segment, legislation scrapping this ability was introduced into State Parliament last September, but it is yet to pass the upper house, despite having initial support from the opposition. However, we hope that the bill will be passed through the Upper House soon.
Attached to this post is a link to listen to the segment:
www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/wa-law-reform-on-prison-time-for-unpaid-fines/12334338
This week is National Reconciliation Week, which is a time for promoting knowledge of Australia’s shared histories, cultures and achievements with its Indigenous peoples. It is also an opportunity to explore and reflect how every Australian can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
National Reconciliation Week is from 27 May to 3 June every year. These dates commemorate important events in Indigenous Australian history – the 1967 referendum was on May 27, while the High Court decision in the Mabo case was made on June 3.
Reconciliation refers to the process through which Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians can recognise the status of Indigenous Australians as First Australians, and reconcile the harmful legacy of devastating land dispossession, violence and racism that characterise Australia’s colonial history.
In the words of Reconciliation Australia, it is about "strengthening the relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians."
The theme of National Reconciliation Week 2020 is In this together, which speaks to the cooperative nature of reconciliation, and emphasises the need for togetherness in any reconciliatory journey.
We encourage everyone to follow the below link to Reconciliation Australia’s website to learn more about reconciliation, and see what events are on throughout National Reconciliation Week.
www.reconciliation.org.au/national-reconciliation-week/
