Page 5437 - Week 17 - Tuesday, 3 December 1991
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MR MOORE (5.47): That was a very straight speech from Mr Duby and one that did not pander to the people who happen to be in the gallery. My speech, too, is going to be a mixture, in a way, some of which people in the gallery will like and some of which they will not. I do have some understanding of how they feel. I have taken out my driver's licence to look at the number. I notice that it is No. 2; I also have a class 7 driver's licence, which allows me to ride a motorbike. I still have at home my helmet from when I did ride a motorbike, although I have not owned a bike for some time and I have not owned a motorbike in the ACT.
The principle of setting charges such as this has attracted a range of debate within the Assembly today. Mr Duby drew attention to the fact that there is a 19-fold higher chance of having an accident if you are on a motorbike than if you are in a car. I think that statistic, applied across Australia, does have some truth. At the same time, of course, it is a person's prerogative, and it should remain part of our freedom, to choose to take such a risk should he wish to. Mr Duby has accepted that - - -
Mr Duby: Hear, hear!
MR MOORE: I know that you are not disagreeing with that. He has said, however, that it is important, from his perspective, to discourage people - I think that was the term he used - by increasing the fee for a motorbike. I do not entirely disagree with that. I know that people are not going to be over-happy with that, but I do not entirely disagree with it.
What I find inequitable in this proposal is that it focuses on a specific size of bike without having the statistics to support that. What I suggest should happen, and I believe that I pointed this out to Mr Connolly quite early in the piece, is that that fee ought to be increased, but it ought to go right across the range of motorbikes. Mr Jensen said that it should be spread right across all people who hold licences. I do not accept that; I think it should go across motorbikes. The motorbike registration fee is out of kilter with car registration fees and has been in the process of catching up.
The lobby group for the motorbike association, which has been very effective and I think deserves congratulations, has pointed out that there have been significant increases over the past few years and much greater than the increases for cars. They are right. But that is how it should be. We ought not suddenly say that motorbikes will now be registered at the same cost as cars. That is an inappropriate way to go. But it is appropriate to bring those registration fees up closer to cars, particularly when there is some evidence that society as a whole pays extra money because of accidents involving motorcycles and because of the amount of time people are in hospital.
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