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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (16 February) . . Page.. 185 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

the King Canute-like changing demographics to smaller households and the risk to local jobs. And there is a view that decisions on development should not be made by an elected Assembly through the Territory Plan but should be made by a bureaucrat. There are all of these views in just one Labor caucus.

MR HARGREAVES: I ask my question of the Minister for Urban Services. I do so with some trepidation because I fear he may put his hand into his pocket, whip out that piece of wet lettuce and flog me again with it. I am a bit worried that. On the weekend of 4 and 5 February 2000 vehicle inspectors were out in full force inspecting motor vehicles. An article in the Canberra Times on 6 February reported that vehicle inspectors were testing registration status, tyres, lights, windscreens, noise, exhaust conditions, engine smoke, seatbelts, windscreen wipers and general body condition. Can the Minister say whatever happened to inspecting things like brakes, steering, suspension and wheels? Would a system that inspects all of these things not be safer for road users than inspecting the cosmetics of a normal motor vehicle?

MR SMYTH: No, it would not. The system that we have ensures that all vehicles will be roadworthy every day of the year. The system that Mr Hargreaves refers to again shows that the Labor Party is trapped back in the 1960s. These people offer nothing new. They are stuck in a time warp where you have to have everything as it was. Our system is far more effective because all Canberrans and all road users in the ACT are on notice every day of the year that their vehicles must be roadworthy.

The things that Mr Hargreaves read out were the things we were testing for in that blitz. We have had several blitzes recently concentrating on different items. There was one the previous weekend that concentrated on loads going to the tip and the condition of trailers. We work in conjunction with the police to make sure that everybody is aware that every day of the year their vehicle must be roadworthy. Our system, we believe, is effective. Their system is just an indication that they simply wish to live in the past.

MR HARGREAVES: I ask a supplementary question. I take my handkerchief out to wipe the water from the wet lettuce off my face. I understand, Minister, that only three defect notices were issued on the weekend of 4-5 February. Does this not mean that more vehicles are driving around with better windscreen wipers, et cetera, but they are not necessarily safer vehicles, and that these drivers may have a false sense of security? Would they have driven away and perhaps not had their vehicle checked more thoroughly, knowing that there was no system of checking it?

MR SMYTH: I can see that Mr Hargreaves is in favour of long queues and unroadworthy vehicles. We all know the rorts that were carried out as people made their vehicles roadworthy for one day of the year. Tyre swapping, gear box swapping and all the sorts of tricks people are well acquainted with were carried out regularly in Canberra. It cannot happen under this system. It cannot be done, because people do not know where the random vehicle testing sites will be.

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