"It brings justice issues to the forefront of the campaign by making the major and minor political parties accountable in their commitment to these issues," said LIV president Steven Stevens.

The LIJ revealed where Victorian political parties stand on key justice issues and included a scorecard indicating how the LIV assessed their responses to those issues.

"We surveyed the parties on their responses to key issues including funding legal aid; protecting rights; the Charter of Human Rights; improving access to justice in regional Victoria and reforming injuries law," Stevens said. "The results were a mixed bag, but readers can judge for themselves where the parties stand."

The LIV has called for specific commitments to increased funding of legal aid to restore access to justice to large parts of the community who are currently denied legal representation. It has also sought commitments to have regional and rural lawyers undertake government legal work.

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The survey followed the LIV's Advocating Justice for All platform, which called on the Victorian and federal governments to commit to policies of supporting access to justice; protecting rights; advancing government transparency, access and accountability and focusing on long-term policies to address the causes of crime rather than short-term 'fixes'.

The Law Institute Journal, including the survey results, are available at http://www.liv.asn.au/About-LIV/Media-Centre/Latest-News.aspx