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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 9 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 3031 ..

MR WHITECROSS (continuing):

There were 11 per cent with tyre defects and one-third with brake defects, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. So much for their random inspection system! The conclusion that the NRMA drew from the study was that tyre condition did not appear to correlate with other faults; that is, checks of tyres alone would not be a reliable indicator of vehicle roadworthiness.

That is the system we have - a system where on change of ownership 40 per cent of cars report brake defects and 80 per cent of cars report some defects, a random inspection system where, according to the NRMA and according to the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales, looking at superficial things like tyre condition is not a reliable indicator of defects in major safety components of the cars.

Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, in the past, this Government has shown scant regard for public safety. They have changed the vehicle testing system and have hidden behind spurious arguments about the number of accidents caused by component failure not being worth worrying about. This is despite the fact that reputable motoring authorities the world over agree that the statistics in relation to component failure's contribution to vehicle accidents are understated. The cost that the community bears in the area of trauma associated with motor traffic accidents is enormous. The personal tragedy alone cannot be costed; but the cost to the community in the way of hospitalisation, rehabilitation, litigation through the courts, insurance costs and damage to public property runs into billions of dollars in Australia.

The simple fact is that, even if we do not take account of the contribution of vehicle condition to the 95 per cent of accidents whose primary cause is driver error, that still leaves a very substantial 5 per cent of accidents caused by vehicle defects. That is a very substantial amount of money when you look at the total cost to the community of road trauma. The vehicle testing system that this Government has foisted on the Canberra community has failed the community elsewhere. Now we have the worst practice, not the best.

The amendments that the Labor Party will be moving in the detail stage will reintroduce a system of regular vehicle inspections. But the Labor Party acknowledges that, in the past, the ACT vehicle fleet had outgrown the capacity of the two testing stations to cope. For that reason, we will be supporting the introduction of private testing stations, provided that they comply with appropriate standards set by the Government and this Assembly. This will avoid the queues that developed outside testing stations in the past. ACT motorists will have the choice of going to a government testing station or to a private one, if that is more convenient. These amendments will also mean that the vehicles that are most at risk of suffering component failure - and there is a distinct correlation with age - are the ones that will be inspected more often. These amendments will require that the vehicle be inspected on the third, fifth and seventh year from the date of manufacture and every year after that. As I said, this will ensure that vehicles are inspected more frequently, as the risk of component failure and wear increases with age.

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