New South Wales Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton met with lawyers of the Albury and District area today as part of a consultation with professionals involved in the local community justice system.
Peter Uniacke of the Slater & Gordon Albury office attended as a member of the local legal profession and a Community Legal Service Volunteer for over 30 years.
As part of her consultations, the Attorney-General was interested in the thoughts and ideas of local practitioners that would help her improve the delivery of justice in New South Wales.
In a landmark announcement for the region, Ms Upton announced additional funding for the criminal justice court system including an extra 3 weeks of Court sittings to help deal with the backlog of cases over the next 18 months. In addition, Albury will finally have its own Legal Aid NSW office which will provide the services of 3 lawyers to the Local and District Courts which will help those at need in the community - this service has been suggested by the local legal profession for many years.
Finally, several suggestions were made to the Attorney General which could improve the function of the Court system and have been taken away for consideration.
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