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Legal Aid News Issue 17 << Back to index Wheels out west Women on Wheels(WOW), a whistle-stop bus tour across the State's far-west took family lawyers Jane Fuller and Alex Wearne through 19 towns, reaching women who live in extremely isolated areas. Now the red-hot dust has settled, one traveller talks about her 'fantastic journey'. "WOW was a great opportunity to network with wonderful and interesting women from the Department for Women, Family Planning Association, Asthma NSW, the NSW Police Service, Department of Sport and Recreation, ICAC, Australian Business Ltd, State Transit Authority and the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit from the Attorney General's Department. There were also two artists in residence on the bus. Our days were very hectic, but each night we all had dinner together. At these dinners we not only “debriefed” on the day’s activities, but also had fascinating discussions on just about everything (assisted by ample supplies of red wine). "However, the trip was also very depressing as we were constantly confronted by the lack of resources, services and facilities in rural areas. I came away with a real sense of “tolerated deprivation” in rural communities. These areas are depressed in every sense of the word. Sadly, a common community response is a perceived imperative to “get children out” of rural areas – which of course contributes to a lack of future community resources. "Access to justice was a huge problem in every area. Courts sit rarely (usually once a month). There are few solicitors in each town (Bourke for example has one firm of solicitors who are there only two days a week), and even fewer with family law expertise. WALS policies mean that indigenous people with family law problems usually miss out on any representation. There are few counselling and support resources for families - and those that exist are seriously stretched by huge demands. It seriously made me reflect on the whingeing we do in the city about lack of resources or services. "I visited Warren, Nyngan, Lightning Ridge, Gilgandra, Bourke, Brewarrina and Walgett. These last three towns have significant social, and especially racial problems. I also went to Broken Hill to investigate the breakdown in representation of victims of domestic violence in that town. "We had varying receptions in each town on each day. In all of the towns, there were significant numbers of Koori women at the forums, which was great to see. "I gave family law advice in each town I visited, as well as ran Legal Aid “segments” at the WOW workshops run by the Department for Women in each town. I also gave general advice on some civil issues, especially discrimination matters, which (perhaps not surprisingly) were a major issue in towns with large indigenous populations. Domestic violence was also a big problem in most towns, especially in Koori communities where WALS cannot act in family law and domestic violence matters due to their policies of not representing “black against black”. "In towns with low turn-outs, we were pro-active. A few of us left the main group and travelled the town making contact with health and community workers, lands councils, police, chamber magistrates, councils etc in the local area to distribute information and explain who we were and what we were doing. "All of the tour participants are now going through a process of debriefing and analysis. I am slowly doing follow up with clients and agencies that I met on the tour. It is hoped that the WOW tour will become an annual trip." The Women out West bus pulls into Dubbo on the first day of the tour with its cargo of information and knowledge. 0n-the-spot advice helps mother regain her child "The night before the Nyngan workshop, we made contact with local police to let them know we were in town. Just as we arrived, a woman was at the counter seeking help in a Family Law matter. The constable on duty was telling her to get some legal advice. "There was no time like the present so we jumped into her car and went back to her place for a cuppa and some advice. She (I’ll call her Joy) was in an awful situation, having just returned from Sydney where she’d been having nine weeks of radiation therapy for breast cancer (Sydney being the closest place where such treatment was available). Joy had asked her ex-husband to look after the children while she travelled to Sydney for treatment. Whilst appearing supportive before she left, her ex was now refusing to return the children to her care. While Joy was in Sydney, her ex-husband had also obstructed contact between the children and their mother. It was only through the hospital social worker that CanFlight had been arranged for the children to have one visit. "I gave Joy preliminary advice, asked her to find out more information from her former solicitor, and return to see me at the Nyngan workshop the next day. This she did - but it transpired that her ex had consulted her former solicitors while she was in Sydney, and they could no longer act for her. The next challenge was to find out where she could take the matter to court - the next Local Court sitting in Nyngan was on 29 May 2001. I knew our beloved family law Magistrate Scott Mitchell sits in Bourke once a month, but I was not sure when. I then discovered there was going to be a registrar sitting in the Dubbo Family Court the next week, so I was able to arrange an urgent appointment for her with a solicitor I know and trust in Dubbo. Given the short notice, I assisted by drafting a short Affidavit for her to expedite things. At last count, she had one of her three children back in her care - her elder two children were teenagers and sadly refused to return. " - Alex Wearne |
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