Page 354 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 1990
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"Will you put half a bucket more on the truck?" and immediately the truck becomes overloaded.
After agreeing to fix these matters when I was the Minister, I was disappointed to see when the Bill finally appeared last week that they had not been fixed. When I contacted the Transport Workers Union last Friday, I was surprised to find out that this was the first it had seen of the Bill. Mr Speaker, this is a very good indication of the difference between the Labor Government and the current Government. We went out of our way to make sure that everybody was consulted on all major issues. Mr Duby, however, did not talk to the TWU or the owner-drivers or the industry body about this Bill until I arranged a meeting with him today. I must say that he was very happy to give us an appointment and talk to us about it.
I find it very surprising because I understand from the TWU that Mr Duby was spoken to at a drinks function that was put on by the Chief Minister in January, and Mr Duby had said that he would talk to the TWU about this Bill coming into the house. I do not want to make too much of this point - - -
Mr Jensen: I should hope not.
MRS GRASSBY: I am sorry, but I did not catch that interjection.
Mr Jensen: I said, "I should hope not", Mrs Grassby.
MRS GRASSBY: Right, sergeant major. Mr Duby agreed to see me and a small delegation this morning. That discussion led to Mr Duby agreeing to include in his remarks later in this debate some guarantees about the way the Bill will operate, including a phase-in period and the use of permits to allow currently registered vehicles to comply with the new rules. I thank him for that. Mr Duby has also agreed to give an undertaking about the role of the police in relation to the new law. I thank him for that as well. As the union explained, the police already have powers to pull a truck over at any time and the union and the industry did not feel that the police should be given any more powers and that it should be left to the department, in the way in which this Bill has been drawn up.
Finally, in relation to the problem about overloading being outside the driver's control, I wish to indicate that I will be moving an amendment at the detail stage to place some responsibility on the people responsible for loading the vehicle so that two parties will be responsible - the owner-driver and the people loading the vehicle.
Mr Speaker, I repeat that this Bill is a good one because it will make our roads safer and it will save on the wear and tear for which we all have to pay. The Labor Party supports the Bill and also supports the related Motor Traffic (Amendment) Bill.
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