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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 10 Hansard (26 November) . . Page.. 3045 ..

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services) (11.09): Mr Speaker, I present the Traffic (Amendment) Bill 1998, together with its explanatory memorandum.

Title read by Clerk.

MR SMYTH: I move:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

Mr Speaker, this amendment is a consequence of the amendments carried out in the Motor Traffic (Amendment) Bill 1998 relating to "pelican crossings" to allow for pedestrian crossings which are controlled by traffic lights. "Pelican crossings" or crossings controlled by lights will now be known as "marked footcrossings". The definition of marked footcrossings corresponds with the current proposed Australian Road Rules definition. A further amendment clarifies the difference between the boundary lines for marked footcrossings and stop lines which apply to motorists approaching the crossings.

Debate (on motion by Mr Hargreaves) adjourned.

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services) (11.10): Mr Speaker, I present the Motor Traffic (Alcohol and Drugs) (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1998, together with its explanatory memorandum.

Title read by Clerk.

MR SMYTH: I move:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

This amendment is a consequence of the 1997 amendments to the Act in which the penalty provisions in the Act were restructured. In the course of this restructure, imprisonment provisions for some offences were inadvertently omitted. The particular offences relate to refusing to provide a breath sample for analysis, refusing to submit to a blood test or a medical examination, and driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug. The omissions effectively meant that a person who realised he or she was considerably over the limit may consider the penalty for refusing a breath test to be a lesser penalty than that which is available to the courts if the breath test is taken. The proposed amendments will reinstate the previously existing imprisonment provisions.

Debate (on motion by Mr Hargreaves) adjourned.

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