Page 1884 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 5 May 2009
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require that it is made clear in the letter to the registered operator that they will be committing an offence in the case that they are not the owner of the vehicle and do not provide advice of this fact within seven days.
Once the vehicle is in a government retention area, provisions of the Uncollected Goods Act come into play and that act outlines the actions that can be taken in respect of the vehicle. Goods of low value are any goods with a worth of between $20 but under $500. Goods of low value are retained for at least one month prior to disposal. Vehicles in this price range are usually given to a vehicle recycler. Goods of significant value are goods valued at $500 or more. Vehicles meeting this price range description are retained for at least three months before being sold at auction. It came as no surprise to me to learn that there have been no vehicles sent to auction in the last seven years. Vehicles are abandoned for many reasons, but the fact that they are worthless and not worth fixing is probably the dominant reason why people dump cars on our roads.
Once a vehicle has been moved to a retention area, costs begin to mount for the owner should they wish to retrieve their vehicle. Currently there is a towing charge of $90, a daily storage charge of $2.55 and a release charge of $141. However, in cases of genuine hardship or unusual circumstances, these charges are not imposed. As you can imagine, most abandoned vehicles have little value and there is no incentive for an owner to pay the government to get their car back. It is usually the low worth of the vehicle that is the reason the vehicle has been dumped in the first place.
In reality, of course, vehicles that are of no value to their owner are of no value essentially to someone else. There are a number of scrap metal dealers in the ACT who will arrange for the collection of unwanted vehicles from an owner’s premises, and even pay for some types of vehicles. Such businesses are a valuable link in the materials and parts recycling chain. There is no reason for people to abandon their vehicle—ever.
Opportunistic dumping, and the vandalism that so frequently follows, is unsightly and sets a bad example. The presence of vandalised or abandoned vehicles lowers the civic pride of a community and encourages other forms of antisocial dumping. We have to ensure that the city rangers can move as quickly as is reasonable to remove what are, after all, very large pieces of junk.
I look forward to these changes coming into effect. I believe they represent an improvement on the former system. They will mean abandoned cars can be moved more quickly. I consider the notice on the windscreen is a more effective means of alerting an owner who has not abandoned their car to the fact that the car needs to be moved, and to the consequences of not moving it. The notice also lets concerned members of our community know that action is actually being taken in regard to that particular vehicle.
I intend to ensure that constant improvements are made in managing municipal issues for the community to provide the level of service that the community rightly expects of government. However, I also expect, of course, that the community will come to the party and manage their responsibilities appropriately. I thank members for their
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