Herbertson, Jacqui --- "Reality TV' - Video Law in Remote and Rural Communities" [2003] IndigLawB 68; (2003) 5(28) Indigenous Law Bulletin 18

• ‘Reality Tv’ – Video Law In Remote And Rural Communities

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‘Reality TV’ – Video Law in Remote and Rural Communities

by Bronwyn Herbertson

The Rural Women’s Outreach Legal Service (‘ROWLS’) is a program operated out of the Toowoomba Community Legal Service in Queensland and funded through the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department. RWOLS provides a service to rural and Indigenous women in South West Queensland which involves the use of video teleconferencing equipment, site visits with legal clinics and telephone communication.

Currently two solicitors are covering the region. Nathalie Frost attends to the Tara, Miles and Chinchilla areas while Bronwyn Herbertson covers Pittsworth, Millmerran, Roma, St George, Goondiwindi, Stanthorpe, Warwick, Cunnamulla and Charleville. The video conferencing equipment has been set up at different sites including generalist community centres, community legal centres and Indigenous legal services. Just to give you some idea of distances, from Toowoomba our furthest visited site is almost 700 kilometres away. Let us say at the outset, that we would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the traditional owners of this beautiful region and to say thank you for allowing us this opportunity to comment on aspects of our work. The writer would also like to note that she is commenting from a non-Indigenous perspective, and that any observations are made from working closely with all people in the region.

The RWOLS solicitors give free legal advice and referral to clients and also take on a limited amount of casework. The main areas of law that we work in are family law and civil law as the Indigenous services and Legal Aid cover criminal matters. We assist clients to access Legal Aid where appropriate however we are finding this to be an increasing challenge. Legal Aid is refused to our clients for any number of reasons, above and beyond their standard financial income and assets tests, including that the parties have to be separated for six weeks and that there has to be a substantial issue in dispute.[1] Of great concern is the number of clients who have failed the ‘merit’ test which seems to be, in the writer’s opinion, applied in an arbitrary manner and that in some regions prospects of a case’s success are being determined by intake officers who do not appear to have any practical legal experience.

Indigenous women in remote and rural locations have many hoops to jump through when seeking legal assistance, even if they have enough funds for private representation. There are problems in towns where there are no private solicitors or legal aid offices. In other towns where there may be one or two solicitors we often have problems with conflict situations, where the solicitor has acted for both or either party in the past. Legal Aid are also finding it difficult to keep the preferred suppliers (private solicitors who will take on legal aid clients) that they have in the rural areas, let alone persuading more to become involved.

Our service aims to empower our clients as much as possible through the legal process, however in many situations the concept of ‘unbundling’(encouraging the clients to self-help in aspects of their matter) is simply inappropriate for many people we see. Issues surrounding literacy, domestic violence, allegations of child abuse, no access to resources, having English as a second language or having a disability conspire to make it impossible for some clients to navigate the complex, frightening and often incomprehensible processes of the court system, especially family law. This is not a region with high educational levels, with a reported 5% of the population in this area having been to tertiary level education. Other reports have stated that Indigenous children are disengaging from the formal education process as early as preschool level and that the retention rates for Indigenous youth staying on for senior are well below that of non-Indigenous youth.

Other factors such as transportation issues, child care issues, having to travel long distances to attend the Family Court or Federal Magistrates Court in Brisbane mean that our clients are extremely disadvantaged. There are ongoing discussions with the Family Court in Brisbane through their Pathways project to hopefully address some of the distance issues and assurances have been made regarding the courts allowing more telephone link ups for people in rural communities. We would like to investigate the possibility of using the video teleconference sites for our clients to attend procedural matters at the Brisbane courts.

In response to many of the issues mentioned above, projects such as the RWOLS were established to try and overcome the isolation and various disadvantages rural and Indigenous women face. Through the use of the site visits and videoconferencing equipment the many solicitors who have worked for our service over the years have built relationships of trust in each of the communities.

Many people find change challenging and this is very evident in rural regions where the pace of life seems slower. This has meant that while having the video teleconferencing sites is a great idea, we feel it is still taking time for people to be truly confident with using the equipment. Our on-site legal clinics are a vital part of the process as they enable personal relationships to be established that can then be continued via the videoconferencing or telephone. The on-site coordinators have all received training in using the equipment and continue to receive ongoing assistance through Legal Aid.

In several of the centres that we visit we have noticed an increase in Indigenous people using the video teleconferencing equipment, especially after the equipment has been made available for them to take part in prison visits. When you see a whole room of family members chatting, laughing and crying with their relative that they can see on the computer but who is imprisoned over 700 kilometres away, it is a very powerful experience. It gives just a glimpse of the potential role for technology in overcoming rural isolation and helping to keep communities and families together. We have found that once people have initially used the equipment they are more likely to use it again. Perhaps this is because the process has been demystified for them and that they have seen the benefits of using the equipment.

Having more of these video teleconferencing sites available would mean the ability to extend the application of this technology to more areas. We believe that some regional hospitals have the equipment and are using it to improve their access to urban-based medical professionals and services. This technology could also be used to link young Indigenous people with their families and communities after they have moved to the cities. For example, one reason given for some Indigenous students who have dropped out of university is that they were incredibly homesick and felt isolated being away from home for the first time. In the future, schools and universities may be able to present their external education courses via video teleconference to remote and rural clients. Only our imagination (and the current cost of the equipment) limits the potential for this technology.

As solicitors we have found that using this equipment has many benefits over telephone advice sessions. It is of great advantage to see your clients and for them to see you. While the images are not perfect and are often out of phase with the sound, it really is useful to observe a client’s body language, to gauge how they are handling the session and even to have a quick look at documents which can be held up to the camera. It is more personal and intimate than a disembodied voice on the end of the telephone and we feel that real connections can be made with the clients through using this equipment. When we meet face to face, we know what to expect after seeing each other and talking via the video teleconferencing.

There have recently been many challenges in the South West Queensland region for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services, which has meant interrupted funding to some of the centres. Some of the staff have stayed at Centres even when they did not get paid for some time. We wish to pay tribute to all of the staff running these centres throughout the region. They are a dedicated and hardworking bunch who have always shown services such as ours the true meaning of working collaboratively and how to rise above political backbiting and agendas to get the job done on the ground. Finally, a huge thank you to all of our clients who continue to teach us on a daily basis about courage in the face of adversity, about finding strength to overcome insurmountable obstacles and about the true meaning of reconciliation.

Bronwyn Herbertson is a Solicitor with the Rural Women’s Outreach Legal Service operating out of the Toowoomba Community Legal Service in Queensland.

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[1] For example, if both parties want to formalise arrangements for children/property they are expected to draw up complex legal documents and lodge them without any legal assistance.