His office told conference organisers late last week it was "inappropriate for Australian Government funds to be directed to the support of campaigns against legislation enacted by the Parliament of Australia".
The second day of the conference is the problem, with the president of the ACTU, Sharan Burrow, guest speaker and plans to focus on "campaigning areas" of "welfare to work, family law reform, IR reform, indigenous justice and security (anti-terrorism)".
Mr Ruddock sees this as a "blatant politicisation of community legal centres". He said his decision was not about curtailing freedom of speech. "The issue is subsidising people to go and listen to a political campaign."
Baffled organisers see nothing particularly new in the rhetoric in this year's brochure or choice of speakers. "There are no big changes," said the association's national convenor, Liz O'Brien.
She said campaigns for law reforms had always been on conference programs. "To act in the best interest of our clients may sometimes lead us to propose changes where government legislation impacts adversely on disadvantaged Australians."
She also rejected the Attorney-General's claim the conference would be stirring a political campaign against government policy. "The term 'campaign around law reform and legal policy' is something used throughout the profession. It is to say that one of the duties to our clients in our society is to keep decision-makers fully informed of the implications of their decisions."
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