Page 136 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 12 February 2020
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person is simply running a couple of minutes late and inspect other vehicles nearby to give that person time to return to the vehicle before an infringement is issued.
I support, and the government supports, pragmatic, risk-based approaches to the enforcement of legislation. We need to acknowledge that establishing a specific time frame for the non-enforcement of parking for a longer time than permitted effectively amends all time-limited parking spaces in the ACT and that has consequential impacts on parking access and associated movements.
That is why it is important that we look further into this and do not simply jump at it in the way that Ms Lawder has suggested. We have to acknowledge that it also may place extra pressure on parking officers, very dedicated members of Access Canberra who are already doing a difficult job, often under trying circumstances, and who already often experience abuse simply for performing their duties. I place on the record that I believe that this is totally inappropriate.
I want to draw the community’s attention to the ParkMobile app as a tool to assist members of the public in avoiding a parking infringement. The app is available for all motorists who use ACT government public parking across the city, and it allows people to purchase time-limited parking. Importantly, the app will send an alert to the user to remind them that their paid parking expiry time is approaching and allow them to pay for additional parking time where that parking time limit allows, or to provide an opportunity to return to their vehicle and move it.
The government is conscious of the impact that a parking fine can have on an individual’s weekly budget. If an individual has received a parking infringement then there are already several avenues of resolution available to them. They include applying for a waiver or a withdrawal of the infringement; disputing the liability of the infringement; submitting a written declaration if they were not the person responsible for the infringement; and requesting an extension of time to pay for up to 360 days, entering a payment plan to pay off their infringement debt over a period of time, and this can be for as little as $10 per week.
In addition, as Ms Le Couteur has also noted, they can enter a work development program to pay off their debts via various activities including volunteering or attending educational or life skill courses. In 2019 over 4,000 people requested an extension of time to pay and 13,000 people entered into a payment plan—that is, 17,000 people took up the option to reduce the immediate financial impact of an infringement due to non-compliance.
The introduction of the infringement payment plan regime was recommended by the targeted assistance strategy panel, which I am pleased to note was part of the work that I performed before being a member of this Assembly. It sought to ensure that people could effectively manage their household budget and break the cycle of increasing infringement debt. It is also important to note that most time-limited parking is in place to meet the practical needs of local businesses, such as business hours parking for customers and loading zone parking at other times to support the delivery of goods and services and the removal of waste products.
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