Page 545 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 February 2020
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this was their first offence. Infringement notices are strict liability offences and they are simple offences where a fine can be issued and paid in lieu of going to court. I mentioned riding in public transport without paying. There is also not picking up after your dog or littering.
The Greens are not arguing in any way against the concept of infringement notices and fines. We are just arguing that there are better ways of administering them. As both sides have agreed, I do not think this is a hugely controversial idea. I am very pleased that it is likely that this will be passed because it is not a very controversial idea. We know that in the ACT there is a system along these lines that works. It is the system for dealing with traffic and parking infringements, which was actually not a government bill, I am sorry, Minister Ramsay; it was actually my former colleague Amanda Bresnan in the Seventh Assembly who introduced this legislation. That covers the majority of infringement notices and it works very well without any problems. We know that this can work and we have modelled our legislation on that successful legislation.
In response to requests from Minister Ramsay’s office I have prepared an amendment that provides for the bill to commence in two years time. This, I understand, is required for IT systems to be prepared in the various agencies that administer different infringement notices. In fact, I strongly suspect that what is going to happen is that, regardless of this, there is probably going to be an upgrade of this software, and this will be rolled into it, which is a very cost-effective way of doing this.
When I tabled this bill I quoted from a report that was authored by Minister Ramsay prior to his election to the Assembly. That report recommended instalment options for infringement payments and was supportive of other payment options such as volunteer work. I also quoted former Attorney-General Simon Corbell and Chief Minister Andrew Barr, who both have been effusive in their praise of the current system of dealing with infringement notices for traffic and parking offences introduced, as I said, by my former Greens colleague Amanda Bresnan. I am not repeating those, in the interest of not boring anybody, but I can add a quote from Mr Pettersson’s private member’s motion last week:
… receiving an infringement can have a significant impact on a person’s budget and ability to cover their everyday expenses …
I could not agree more, and I am very pleased to find that both sides of the Assembly also agree with me. I look forward to this bill passing very soon.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Detail stage
Clause 1 agreed.
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