$1M LEGAL AID FOR ACCUSED FOREIGN DRUG RUNNERS

Up to $1 million will be diverted from Australia's family court system to
defend alleged drug smugglers from Hong Kong and Indonesia, fuelling the
controversy over legal aid cuts.

The cost of defending the 18 foreign nationals charged last month over
Australia's biggest heroin seizure of 400kg looks likely to be met by the
NSW Legal Aid Commission and because they face federal charges, the money
must come from the share of funds the commission gets from the Commonwealth.

But the cash-strapped commission, whose federal budget was slashed by $12.9
million this year, will have to dip into the money it had earmarked for
people facing family law cases to pay the defence bill.

Family law cases also come from the federal fund share.

"This sort of criminal case is not something we can reasonably foresee and
budget for," said Legal Aid Commission criminal law manager Doug Humphreys.

"We have to live within our budget. The Commonwealth has made it clear they
regard criminal law cases as a priority because of the High Court's
Dietrich decision and the inevitable result will be a transfer of funds
from family law to crime to fund this case."

In the Dietrich case, the High Court stipulated an indigent person charged
with a criminal offence must be legally represented to receive a fair trial.

The legal aid cuts have come as the number of people using the Family Court
has soared with over 25,000 applications for custody filed in the 1996-97
financial year compared with less than 11,000 in 1987.

However, the NSW Legal Aid Commission has already had to cut the number of
Family Court cases, including custody disputes, that it can fund from 6000
last year to 4000 this year because of the federal cuts.

The legal aid crisis in family law has been one reason for the recent
public row between Family Court Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson and
federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams.

The cost of defending the alleged drug smugglers would include $254 per two
hours for an interpreter so the seven Hong Kong Chinese and 11 Indonesians
who speak no English can confer with their lawyers before the case gets
into court.

Legal Aid pays up to $2135 a day for a solicitor, junior barrister and
senior counsel per day in the Supreme Court which would be multiplied by 18
if the men want to be separately represented, as seems likely.

Law Council of Australia president Fabian Dixon said the Federal Government
should consider setting up a fighting fund for this type of situation "so
it doesn't mean that resources already earmarked for other areas have to be
taken away".

Lawyers Reform Association president David Re said it would always be
difficult to choose between paying the legal costs of someone charged with
a serious drug offence carrying a sentence of life in jail and a shop
assistant with two children needing to sort out a family law dispute.