House of Assembly: Thursday, June 24, 2010

Contents

SPOONER JUDGEMENT

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (15:07): My question is for the Attorney-General. Did the health practitioners involved in the case of Neil Spooner advise the government of Neil Spooner's vision impairment following his eye removal as required under section 148 of the Motor Vehicles Act? Justice Soulio, at page 10 of his judgement, stated:

In the present case there is no suggestion that any medical practitioner notified the authorities that the accused was not fit to drive.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (15:08): Mr Spooner was assessed by an independent doctor and found to meet the standards for the capacity to drive. He also had an independent driving test and met the standards for ability to drive. That is why I have asked the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to have a look at the standards to see whether they are sufficiently rigorous to ensure that people are not driving if they have an impairment level which means that they should not be driving.