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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 13 Hansard (5 December) . . Page.. 4514 ..

MS HORODNY (continuing):

like is the last step, and that is that a learner driver can obtain a licence merely on the basis of the completion of a certificate of competency by the driving instructor and without an independent test. I was planning to move an amendment to ensure that we still have that final driving test in place, but we are now sending the Bill to a committee and I think that is a very good idea.

In South Australia 70 per cent of learner drivers have chosen to be assessed by their instructors. Students, on average, take 12 to 15 lessons at a cost of about $500. There is clearly a reduced role for government examiners, in that they will audit only 10 per cent of the private driving tests, which I understand involves the examiner sitting in on only one of the driving lessons. They will also continue the one-off testing for those learner drivers who choose not to use an accredited instructor. South Australia has gone further than the ACT proposal by allowing private driving instructors also to do audit tests on other driving instructors. We understand that the ACT Government is considering doing this in the future.

The question that needs to be addressed is whether commercial driving instructors should have the power to assess their own students. Given that there is a direct financial relationship between the private instructor and the student, there is a potential for a conflict of interest and possible corruption of the process. Driving instructors may want their students to have more lessons than they really need, so that they can generate more income. Alternatively, students may seek to bribe their instructors to get their logbooks completed before the student has shown the necessary driving competency. These concerns are not just my idle thoughts, Mr De Domenico.

Mr De Domenico: I have said nothing, Ms Horodny. I am still sitting here listening in awe.

MS HORODNY: Do listen. You should have read in the Canberra Times that in 1990 the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption inquired into such allegations. There were corrupt practices surrounding New South Wales licence examiners. It was found that there was rampant corruption among examiners and private driving instructors.

Ms McRae: Not in the ACT.

MS HORODNY: In New South Wales they also probably said, "Not in New South Wales". In fact, it appears that some $3m changed hands in these corrupt dealings. Of course, we are not suggesting that the examiners and driving instructors here are corrupt, but the potential exists and we need to make sure that the system used in the ACT prevents this.

The Government says that the audit system will maintain the standard of driving lessons, but the audits will pick up only one in 10 cases and we could still end up with many bad drivers slipping through the net and increasing the risk of road accidents. The Government also says that students will always have the choice of going to different driving instructors or going for the one-off test, but this may be too late for the student who has already paid out more than they need to in driving lesson charges.

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