Page 3893 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 September 2018
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about how our CTP scheme should work to give Canberrans the best protection on our roads.
I want to again extend the government’s thanks to all the jury members for their time and energies, as well as to the members of the stakeholder reference group who supported their work, including the ACT Law Society, the ACT Bar Association, insurer representatives, healthcare advocates and ACT government directorates.
The citizens jury closely considered our CTP scheme and recommended reform. The next stage is for the government to give effect to their recommendations through legislation in this Assembly. That is the step we move forward with today in releasing an exposure draft of the Motor Accident Injuries Bill 2018.
This is not the final bill. On a topic as complex and technical as motor accident insurance, we want to make sure the policy and implementation details are just right. This is why the government is today referring the bill to an inquiry for a further round of consultation and examination by stakeholders and the community.
The committee is being asked to report back to the Assembly by the end of October, and we have set this date because the work we are asking them to do is focused on the bill itself. Will it deliver on the reforms recommended by the citizens jury? Does it work in practice and in tandem with the ACT’s existing suite of legislation? On that note, though, I do note that there has been an amendment circulated today and we will be supporting Ms Le Couteur’s time line in that amendment.
The government understands that there are some stakeholders who would like to see the CTP scheme remain as it is, complete with adversarial, long and expensive legal battles, but we ask these stakeholders to accept the community’s view, as reflected through the work of the citizens jury, that our CTP scheme needs improving and can be improved so that everyone is better protected on our roads. We invite these and all other stakeholders and interested parties to get involved with the JACS committee inquiry and participate constructively in the process from here.
Once the government has received the committee’s report, we will make any necessary amendments and aim to have the final bill introduced to the Assembly before the end of 2018. We have already been working through this CTP reform process for over a year, but we know that by taking the time to get it right and providing multiple opportunities for the community and stakeholder involvement we can deliver reforms that work for Canberra’s 290,000 motorists who are required to take out compulsory accident insurance when they register their vehicles each year.
We know Canberra drivers want the best protection for themselves, their families and everyone who may end up involved in an accident on our roads, including fast access to treatment, care and lost wages without the need for a long and stressful court battle. That is what the reforms outlined in the Motor Accident Injuries Bill will deliver.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (11.19): So that I do not forget to do so, I move the amendment circulated in my name:
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