Page 563 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
work or a social development program. These programs would be rehabilitative and/or beneficial to the community. They would include activities such as volunteer work for community organisations; medical or mental health treatment in accordance with a health plan; counselling, mentoring, education or skills courses; and drug or alcohol treatment. A person can also apply for this option after their licence has been fine-suspended. The option recognises that for some people, it will be more appropriate to discharge their penalty through community work or social development programs. It will enable low income people to discharge fines and avoid the serious consequences that can result from having their licence fine-suspended.
Thirdly, the bill would allow people to apply to the authority to have a fine waived. This would only be granted where the applicant has special circumstances, such as disability or homelessness, cannot pay their fine and is unlikely to ever be able to pay the fine, and is not suitable to undertake community work or a social development program. This is expected to occur only in rare circumstances.
As I have mentioned, the bill gives the Road Transport Authority the power to reinstate a person’s fine-suspended licence. This is permitted where a person has been granted one of the new flexible payment options—instalments or community work—and is complying with the arrangement. If the applicant does not comply with the requirements of the payment undertaking, the authority may reinstate the suspension.
These are important changes for ensuring that the ACT’s traffic fine system operates fairly and justly. As I have said, improving the system will improve social justice and is also likely to reduce the number of people who drive while their licence is suspended.
It is important to note that the proposed changes are not designed to assist people who merely refuse to pay infringement penalties; nor are they about letting people escape the repercussions of breaking the law. The proposed changes are only about giving a person flexibility in paying a fine; they do not prevent a person from incurring demerit points for any offences. The changes simply recognise that the current system is so inflexible that it cannot fairly accommodate people suffering from disadvantage. The Greens want to ensure that authorities can collect traffic fines effectively and do not want people escaping fines for which they are liable.
I believe that making the system more flexible, as proposed in this bill, will assist with the administration of traffic fines and lead to better compliance. For example, flexible payment options are likely to encourage more people to engage with the system. Reinstating someone’s licence while they pay is a way of ensuring that the person is able to pay and therefore that government will recover the fines it is owed. It is also likely to reduce the number of people who drive while their licence is suspended, which is a serious issue.
People in difficult circumstances whose licence has been fine-suspended feel that they have no choice but to drive. The result is unlicensed drivers on the road, and a risk for that individual of incurring significant additional fines or even prison. This was an issue recently raised by an ACT magistrate.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video