Page 862 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
cultural reasons to ask for reasonable privacy when directed to remove the covering. Subsection (4) requires the police officer or authorised person to take reasonable steps to comply with the request.
However, subsection (5), which is the subject of my amendment, then says that a failure of the officer to take reasonable steps does not affect the validity of anything done by the officer under the section, nor does a failure of the police officer to comply affect the liability of a person who commits an offence of failing to follow a direction to remove a head covering. The view of the Greens is that this subsection is not necessary and it is inappropriate. I note that this was also an issue raised by the scrutiny of bills committee. I will discuss this further when I present my amendment.
The second element of the bill relates to the concept of repeat offender for certain serious road traffic offences. The changes will align the concept of first offender and repeat offender with a new definition that was inserted last year into the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977 which related to offences of driving while impaired. The amendments displace common law principles to ensure that a person who commits a second offence when proceedings for a first offence have not yet been finalised can still be considered a repeat offender. This accounts for issues such as delays in court proceedings.
The changes ensure that delays in prosecuting an offender for a first offence would not unreasonably entitle the offender to be treated as a first offender on two occasions for the same type of offence because they had not been convicted of a first offence at the time they committed the second offence. The Greens agree that the change is a step to help ensure safe roads and discourage repeat offending.
I note that the offences covered will include culpable, reckless and menacing driving, negligent driving causing death or grievous bodily harm, and racing and burnouts. These are all road traffic offences that present a real danger to the community.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (11.08), in reply: I thank members for their support of this bill. The bill continues the government’s reform agenda for the road transport legislation. It supports the ACT’s road safety strategy 2011-20.
Over the past three years the Labor government has substantially amended the territory’s road transport legislation with a particular emphasis on amendments that promote safer driving and safer vehicles. At the same time the government has made continued efforts to improve our road networks. ACT Policing has deployed new technologies, including its successful RAPID system to detect and remove unregistered and uninsured vehicles from our roads as well as unlicensed drivers.
Implementation of the 2010 reforms to the territory’s drink and drug driving laws has also been completed. Completion of an alcohol and drug awareness course is mandatory for any driver who is convicted or found guilty of a drink or drug driving offence committed after 25 November last year. These courses are now being provided at a variety of locations across the ACT.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video