Page 1336 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 9 April 2013
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Question so resolved in the affirmative.
Remainder of bill, as a whole, as amended, agreed to.
Bill, as amended, agreed to.
Road Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2013
Debate resumed from 21 March 2013, on motion by Mr Corbell:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (11.33): The Road Transport Legislation Amendment Bill and other road transport legislation will assist the implementation of the amendments contained in the Road Transport (General) (Infringement Notices) Amendment Act 2012.
When we debated that bill last year, I noted that the legislation was not detailed enough to be implemented without confusion. As I said on 9 May:
The payment of fines by community work or social development programs—that is, in effect, a community-based order—is fine in principle. But we must have the details of such a scheme laid out in this legislation so that we as legislators can comprehend what is being proposed. I am concerned that the bill is too light on detail and leaves far too much up to regulations and the bureaucracy for determination. Whilst there is merit in such orders, I believe it is irresponsible to pass legislation which does not clearly articulate how the scheme will be carried out.
Today, as predicted last year, we are dealing with this bill because the previous legislation was not sufficiently detailed to support the policy behind it.
The bill deals with the concepts contained in the 2012 legislation as well as amending the automatic disqualification periods for those convicted of driving while their licences were suspended. The bill contains new definitions to support flexible payment schemes for fines.
In order to implement the concepts in the 2012 legislation, the bill sets out the concept of an infringement notice management plan which allows individuals and corporations to pay their fines in instalments, by participation in community work or a social development program or by seeking a waiver. The bill also allows for multiple fines to be consolidated and dealt with under one infringement notice management plan rather than being dealt with as separate penalties. We have been told there will not be any financial penalty for those who choose to pay their fines in instalments.
A person is automatically eligible for an infringement notice management plan if they are the holder of a prescribed card. The administering authority has discretion to grant access to an infringement notice management plan in cases where they are satisfied on reasonable grounds that the person’s financial circumstances justify it but they do not
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