Page 4310 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 22 September 2010
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MR SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves, a supplementary?
MR HARGREAVES: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. In the context of myself, only two days ago I was 10 metres away when a man was instantly killed in a road accident attributed solely to speed. I would be very interested to know how the Chief Minister sees that the network approach would actually work.
MR STANHOPE: I thank Mr Hargreaves for the question. I believe that, in its actual application, it will work. The essential theory is, of course, that there will be two cameras on any stretch of road, initially. They might be five kilometres apart; they might be three kilometres apart; they might be 10 kilometres apart. But the technology is available. It will take a reading from a numberplate, it will read that numberplate again when it passes through the second camera, and it will automatically compute the speed of the car along that road and be able to determine automatically whether or not the car exceeded the speed limit at any time during its passage across that stretch.
An important part of the proposal, because this is the first attempt made in Australia to incorporate point to point within an urban setting, is the capacity for the technology to work not just from a point to a point or a single point to a single point, but from a point to multiple points. And that is the plan that we are seeking to roll out. We anticipate 10 point-to-point sections of road to be covered in the next few years. The capacity exists for a car to be measured across multiple collections of point-to-point cameras, with a capacity, of course, that excess speeds or illegal speeds will be detected across the whole of the ACT and that individual cars can potentially be tracked. I have no doubt that, as a result, the fact is that it is not just a case of slowing down and speeding up when the camera is passed; it is a case of, no matter what the speed is, if it is in excess of the limit across an entire journey, then the fine will apply.
I will be interested in the views of other members of the Assembly in relation to some of the other law enforcement opportunities presented. I will be bringing legislation to the Assembly to seek the implementation of this particular proposal. I hope to have that before the Assembly over the next few months. There will be, in the legislation that I propose to present to the Assembly, opportunities for the camera systems to be used by the police in relation to, for instance, the detection of unregistered vehicles, in the detection of a range of potential other offences. I will be interested in the views of the Assembly in relation to some of these other potential law enforcement opportunities that are presented by this technology in relation to things around driving of unregistered cars. Indeed, the police see an application in relation to the opportunity for the technology to be used potentially to identify suspects in other crime that might not be traffic related.
MR COE: Supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Coe.
MR COE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, what consultation did you have with the NRMA and what was the feedback they gave you?
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