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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (29 March) . . Page.. 1136 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

Hobbyists have legitimate reasons to stagger their vehicle registration. While the historic registration scheme is available, it does not allow for normal road operation of the vehicle, which is often desired. Historic registration also refers to vehicles that are over 30 years old. Until I came into this place, I drove a vehicle which ought to have received an historic appellation, but it was less than 30 years old.

Mr Quinlan: As with the driver.

MR HARGREAVES: So did the driver. I pay credit to my colleague Mr Quinlan, who is more aged than I. Mr Speaker, car enthusiasts should not be penalised for enjoying and preserving our motoring history. They should be able to continue to enjoy their hobby, which includes displaying vehicles at numerous community and charity fundraising events.

Canberra has a diverse culture. We have seasonal workers. Some residents are sent on overseas postings for short and long periods. It seems ridiculous that persons on six-month postings must keep their vehicle registered while they are away. I have here an email from a gentleman who lives in England for six months. He and his wife have three vehicles-two vintage cars and a motorcycle-and a trailer. If the government's law is passed, this man will be forced to have all of these vehicles registered even when he is not using them.

Due to Canberra's climate, we have many residents who migrate north for the winter. Most of these people are retired and on a limited fixed income. Some retired couples leave one vehicle in Canberra and travel in the other. It is a nonsense to expect those people to register fully a vehicle that sits in their garage for half a year. I received a representation from a gentleman who does just that. He and his wife go to the north coast because the winter in Canberra is too severe for their health.

The government offers seasonal registration, but it is limited to caravans, motor bikes, farm use vehicles and vehicles over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass. People who own a campervan below 4.5 tonnes are not entitled to seasonal registration. Indeed, there are people who go fruit picking and do not necessarily have a job to go to when they leave Canberra; they go in the hope of getting one. They leave the normal vehicle that they use around here in a garage here and hop into a motor home which is less than 4.5 tonnes to go to Griffith or Mildura. We would hope, in fact, that they would even go as far afield as Murrumbateman, which, of course, is interstate. They would not necessarily be using their vehicle in town then, but they would want the opportunity to register the campervan for six months while they are earning a living and the town vehicle for the six months that they would want to use it here.

Mr Speaker, this matter revolves around the question of definition. Yesterday, for the first time, I heard the minister say that these registration changes are an access fee for the road network. That is the pivotal point for this concept of continuous registration. I urge members thinking of speaking on the issue to take note of this point. For what reason do we pay registration? The national transport reforms that the minister is saying have been agreed to seem to be pointing to using the term "access fee for the road network", not a service fee for the amount of usage you have for the road. I had not heard this term used before yesterday. Most people believe that they are paying to use the road network and that there is a relationship between the fee and the time on the road. One would be

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