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| Sandra Kanck Deputy Leader Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
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Legislative
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| Sandra Kanck Deputy Leader Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
Parliament Index |
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Adjourned debate on second reading.
The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: The Democrats support all but one of the provisions in this bill. The amendment to the definition of motor vehicle in the Goods Securities Act is necessary due to the Motor Vehicles (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act. It will ensure that trailers are not unintentionally excluded from cover under the Goods Securities Act, and this amendment has our support. Likewise, we endorse the variation in the criteria for granting a concession on motor vehicle registration fees to ex-service personnel receiving a pension based on impairment of locomotion from 75 per cent incapacity to 70 per cent.
The Democrats view the amendment that requires a driver of a heavy vehicle to produce his or her licence to an inspector on request as reasonable. The current requirement that drivers need only present their licence to a police station within 48 hours is ineffective in dealing with a small percentage of rogue operators who give false names to inspectors. The need to produce a licence with a photograph on it will help curtail the incidence of this type of fraud.
We applaud the imposition of fines of up to $5 000 for the misuse of information obtained in the administration of the act. Individuals have a right to expect that information provided to government entities will be used only for the purposes legitimately associated with the provision of that information. They certainly should not have to fear that the information will be passed onto a third party. This amendment strengthens our right to privacy.
On the other hand, I can see little need for, and do not support, the creation of offensive language and obstruction offences to apply solely to inspectors appointed under the Motor Vehicles Act and the Road Traffic Act. The Summary Offences Act already has general provisions dealing with offensive language and obstruction. I think those sanctions are sufficient. I note, in support of creating these specific offences, the Minister claims similar provisions apply to inspectors in 20 other acts, including the Local Government Act 1999. In fact, the Local Government Act requires employees to act honestly and with reasonable care and diligence, and to comply with each council's code of conduct. The act contains no reference to specific offences of offensive language or obstruction. By all means, create and enforce a code of conduct for inspectors-offensive language and obstruction are unacceptable-but there is no need to enshrine these provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act. We will oppose this clause when we reach the committee stage, but I indicate the Democrats will support the second reading.
The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS secured the adjournment of the debate.
