Uncertainty hangs over the future of the Hawke's Bay Community Law Centre, as the Government's plans to review the way it funds free legal services.
The Ministry of Justice's decision to introduce competitive tendering - where community organisations pitch for a share of the public money earmarked for free legalservices - has already resulted in the Hutt Valley and Wellington centres merging, and John Worden, chairman of the Hawke's Bay Community Law Centre board, says the restructuring leaves things "very uncertain" for Hawke's Bay services.
"It's just unknown, really, until we hear from the Ministry at the end of September."
In its review of free legal services last year, the Ministry proposed a two-tiered system consisting of direct personal services available through New Zealand's 25 community law centres, and the introduction of an 0800 number and online service.
However, Mr Worden said the Government had recently signalled its intention to cut back the number of contracts from 25 to between 10 and 15.
"We're not sure whether it will be a separate contract for Hawke's Bay itself, or it will be a slightly bigger region that's tendered for. In which case it will need to work with the existing law centres that cover that area, as well as work out how we would deliver the service."
The Hawke's Bay Community Law Centre, which is based in Hastings and has outreach clinics in Napier, Flaxmere and Waipukurau, gave advice to 3261 people for the year ending June 30, and put in more than 6000 hours' work with its clients.
According to Elizabeth Tennet, chief executive officer of the Community Law Centres of Aotearoa (CLCA), demand for community law services is increasing as more people lose their jobs because of the recession. "We see around a quarter of a million people a year around the country. Our services are extremely needed."
Community law centres give face-to-face advice, make submissions around legislation, raise awareness about the law through public meetings and work with community groups to establish preventative approaches to justice.
A recent study released by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research said that lawyers and law students gave almost $1.8 million worth of free legal services throughout the centres in the past year.
It also noted that for the $10.97 million of public money invested in the service, the centres provided potential legal help for about 20 per cent of the population with problems not eligible for legal aid.
