00:01Over several months, increasing numbers of people have been facing Northern Territory
00:06courts without a lawyer. Ongoing funding pressures forcing NT Legal Aid to turn dozens away.
00:13That includes children, so children who have been charged aren't getting legal aid. Chronic
00:18underfunding which has led to this by successive governments, that's true. The legal aid sector
00:26is not well prioritised.
00:28With no access to free representation, defendants can face unaffordable legal fees or an unfair
00:35trial, and many are applying to have their cases halted. One NT lawyer now preparing for
00:42a landmark challenge next month. We're running what's called a stated case before
00:48the Northern Territory Supreme Court. He'll be asking whether a High Court ruling
00:52decades ago still applies in the NT local court.
00:56Is the local court able to press pause on a case where a person doesn't have a lawyer
01:01and can't afford to pay for one?
01:03If successful, Mr Dain expects the consequences will be far reaching.
01:07There are whole bunches of people who are just being adjourned and adjourned because they
01:16don't have lawyers. If a stay is granted, then something can't be prosecuted until such
01:22time as legal aid might be reinstated so that someone has a lawyer. So at best it causes a
01:31delay, but at worst it means that the case can't proceed at all.
01:35The NT Attorney General says core funding for legal aid has increased, but legal aid says
01:41millions has been stripped from its budget and more cuts may be coming. The standoff is leaving
01:47lawyers concerned some of the Territory's most vulnerable people will be left to face the
01:53justice system alone for some time to come.
01:56This is a great deal.
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