Fines for obscuring registration plate: Why higher than speeding fine?

	Extract from Hansard Legislative Council 20 October 1999

Ian Gilfillan Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council		Parliament Index 1999 Spring Session Index Browse by Subject About the SA Parliament Hansard on line

The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Attorney- General a question on the comparative fines for various driving offences.

The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: In the Advertiser of 12 October, a letter to the editor titled `Ridiculous fine for minor mistake' from Mrs Nicole Gorton states:

I am angry because on the long weekend my husband received a ridiculous fine of $246 because the registration plate on his car was obscured by the tow ball.

We worked all day on the Sunday in the garden until late, including a run to the dump, and didn't even think about taking the tow ball off the car.

The next day, my husband went out in the car and this was when he was given the ticket.

It wasn't something that we would intentionally do; purely a mistake. We are aware that it is an offence to obstruct the registration plate and wouldn't even consider rorting the system by doing this.

I would have thought that a warning could have been issued, or even be asked immediately to take it off, but obviously the officer concerned hadn't got his quota for the day.

We have never experienced any trouble with the law before and it makes me very upset that something minor like this, which was accidental, could cost so much.

It just so happens that one of the Democrats' staff had a similar experience less than a year or so ago, as a result of which they incurred a fine of $246. In his case, he resented the degree of the fine. I will compare this fine to the fines for quite severe speeding offences, dealt with under schedule 5. The fine for being more than 15 kilometres but less than 30 kilometres over the speed limit is $189. As any member can calculate, the fine is over $50 less than the fine for having a towbar in front of a numberplate. In fact, you have to exceed the speed limit by 30 kilometres or more before the fine rises significantly above $246.

My question to the Attorney-and it does not reflect on the fact that obscuring a numberplate is certainly an offence and it is reasonable that there should be a penalty-simply is: does he agree that, in the light of the seriousness and the consequences of the offence, the penalty for obscuring a numberplate-and often that is inadvertent and innocent-incurs a fine of $246, whereas the penalty for a quite substantial speeding offence is a fine of only $189?

The Hon. K.T. GRIFFIN (Attorney-General): The administration of the Road Traffic Act is not committed to me. But the police, of course, have the responsibility for the enforcement of offences under the Road Traffic Act. I will have to take the question on notice. I did see the letter to the editor to which the honourable member referred. I am not sure what the rationale is for those sorts of distinctions to which he referred. Of course, it may be that the numberplate is the significant identifying feature of any vehicle and, if you do not have the numberplate clear of obstruction, there may well be some difficulties in identifying vehicles that-

The Hon. T.G. Cameron: You're commenting on the level of fines; it has nothing to do with it.

The Hon. K.T. GRIFFIN: It has; it has everything to do with it. It is about administration. The honourable member talked about administration and indicated that it involved someone from the Democrats' office and something which could have happened quite innocently-that brings into play issues about the charging practice. They are issues about which I will have to get a response. I will get one, and I will bring back a reply.

The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: I have a supplementary question. Perhaps the Attorney misinterpreted my question. I asked him whether he would give an opinion as to the justification for the disproportionate difference which has been expressed to me between the fine for the offence of obscuring and the fine for an excessive speeding offence. I wanted the Attorney's opinion on the justification for this.

The Hon. K.T. GRIFFIN: No, I am not prepared to do that. I will bring back a reply.