Page 794 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 8 March 2016
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only see police pursuits occur in circumstances where the overall harm the police are seeking to prevent outweighs the risks involved in conducting a pursuit. We need to be very clear that the majority of pursuits in the past have been for traffic and property offences. In the future, in ordinary circumstances, police will not pursue simply for a property or traffic offence. Fewer pursuits on our roads will mean a safer environment for road users, police and the broader community.
I note Mr Hanson’s claim that the Australian Federal Police Association were not consulted in relation to these changes. That is not true. They were consulted. Regrettably, there have been some internal leadership changes within the association. Those have been well publicised, but it would appear that as a result of those internal divisions, which I am pleased to say have now been resolved, there was perhaps, it would appear, a lack of communication between outgoing and incoming office holders. But it is simply not the case to say that there has been no consultation with the AFPA, because there was.
The new ACT Policing limited pursuit policy, together with the amendments in this bill, provide a crucial road safety reform for the ACT. The government is pleased to be working with ACT Policing on reducing the road safety risks to our community in this way. Limiting police pursuits does not give criminals a green light to break the law. The amendments contained in this bill mean that while offenders may not be apprehended immediately, it will only be a matter of time, and when police do catch up with them, offenders will now face harsher penalties for failing to stop.
The bill creates a new offence of failing to stop for police, with offenders subject to a maximum penalty of up to 12 months imprisonment and up to $15,000 in fines. Repeat offenders could face an increased maximum penalty of three years in jail and up to $45,000 in fines. Drivers can also have their licence suspended and their vehicle seized.
The bill also increases penalties applying to the responsible operator of a motor vehicle who fails to provide police with information about the identity of the driver at the time of the alleged offence. This avoids creating an incentive to refuse to disclose information about the driver and supports police in being able to apprehend offenders through an enhanced investigative approach.
The new offence and increased penalties more closely align the ACT to the penalties that apply in other jurisdictions. They more accurately reflect the dangers posed by irresponsible offenders who fail to respond to a police request to stop their vehicle. The bill will help reduce the number of police pursuits in the ACT by giving police the powers they need to pursue alternate avenues of identifying, apprehending and prosecuting offending drivers.
The government is confident that this bill, and the new ACT Policing pursuits policy, will strike the right balance between protecting life—the lives of police officers, the lives of innocent third parties on our roads and the lives of people themselves who flee—and the need to arrest and prosecute offenders. It is a reflection of the government’s commitment to increasing the safety of all road users and is consistent with our vision zero road safety philosophy. I am pleased to support this bill today.
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