Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .
Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (16 February) . . Page.. 201 ..
MR BERRY: They are wrong. This is not the way to deal with the matter. The police can address this issue in the normal way, I am sure, if these people are committing an offence. If they are not driving dangerously, what do you pinch them for? If they are not doing anything dangerous, what do you pinch them for? Is it dangerous? The difficulty is in proving that it is dangerous. It is certainly a matter which offends environmental principles. It is certainly an offence which creates noise and disruption in communities. The police should have been armed to deal with it for those reasons. But taking away vehicles in this way is just an overreaction.
I have said before that young people will always work out a way to get around these things. Those who have the intent will do it anyway, and they are still doing it. They are laughing at you and they are laughing at the police while they are doing it. Now and then you will pick up a car and say, "We pinched that person's car. That is justification for saying that the law is working". I am telling you that the law is not working, because people who want to avoid it can easily avoid it. In doing so, they make you look like fools and they create difficulties in relations between young people and police in particular. I just think that it is an offensive move. It is a bit like the move-on powers.
Clauses agreed to.
Clause 5 agreed to.
Clause 6
MR HARGREAVES (4.25): Mr Speaker, I move:
Page 4, line 8, proposed new subsections 5B (1) and (2), omit the subsections, substitute the following subsections:
" '(1) In this section-
burnout means-
(a) in relation to a motor vehicle other than a motorbike-operate the vehicle in a way that causes the vehicle to undergo sustained loss of traction by 1 or more of the driving wheels; or
(b) in relation to a motorbike-operate the motorbike in a way that causes the motorbike to undergo sustained loss of traction by the driving wheel.
other prohibited conduct means conduct that-
(a) is associated with the operation of a motor vehicle for speed competitions or other activities prescribed under the regulations; and
(b) is prescribed under the regulations for subsection (4).
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .