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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1458 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

To help people with alcohol problems, this Government has provided the courts with the option of allowing the person to attend an approved alcohol rehabilitation course at their own expense, instead of paying a fine. People who fail to satisfactorily complete the course must return to the courts to have their penalty reviewed. The changes to the Acts reinforce the message that drink-driving is an unacceptable social offence. Mr Speaker, the message is clear: Drink and drive and you will lose the right to your drivers licence.

Debate (on motion by Mr Whitecross) adjourned.

MR KAINE (Minister for Urban Services) (11.06): I present the Motor Traffic (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1997, together with its explanatory memorandum.

Title read by Clerk.

MR KAINE: I move:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

Mr Speaker, as a result of the amendments made to the Motor Traffic (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977, amendments have also been made to the Motor Traffic Act 1936. The penalties for serious non-alcohol-related offences in the Motor Traffic Act 1936 were also examined, to ensure that they were consistent with the new penalties applied for drink-driving. The Government has not sought to increase fines for non-drink-driving offences, as we believe the current levels available to the courts are appropriate. The changes to this legislation are not a revenue-raising exercise.

The only substantial increase in the penalty provisions is the minimum licence cancellation period for culpable driving. This penalty is increased from a minimum of three months to a minimum of six months, to more adequately reflect the seriousness of the offence. The social and economic impact on the families of people who lose their licence and can potentially lose their employment are recognised by this Government. A special licence will still be available to certain people whose licences are cancelled by the courts for alcohol-related or serious non-alcohol-related driving offences. However, these people will be required to prove that exceptional circumstances exist before the courts can grant a special probationary licence to allow these persons to drive under certain conditions. That is opposed to the present circumstances, where they simply have to prove that they have a work-related difficulty.

We have provided the courts with clear guidelines to enable them to establish what are considered to be exceptional circumstances under which they can grant a special probationary licence. The amendments make it more difficult for a person to get a special probationary licence for work purposes. A person whose special probationary licence is cancelled will no longer be eligible to apply for any licence until their original

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