MOTOR VEHICLES (HISTORIC NUMBER PLATES) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 14 June 2012.)

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (11:10): I rise today to support the bill proposed by the member for Schubert, the Motor Vehicles (Historic Number Plates) Amendment Bill, and I do so on the basis that I have had contact from constituents who are vehicle enthusiasts. There is an auto preservation society that exists within the Goyder electorate and, indeed, a vintage and veterans motorcycle club. For them, the connection with the history of their vehicle via the numberplate is a very important issue.

When the member for Schubert brought this issue to the attention of opposition members, he did so on the basis of declaring a personal interest in that he is very much a collector of historic vehicles but mainly upon the basis of a contact from Mr Eric Collins, who has a vehicle of 1929 construction that has been in the family forever. It was transferred from Mr Collins' now-deceased father to Mr Collins and, indeed, as a result of that transfer and the regulations in force at the time, he has been required to relinquish the historic numberplate that was attached to the car and take up a more modern one. Given that the rest of the vehicle is completely authentic and in original condition, this is devastating to Mr Collins.

I have spoken to people in my electorate who spend an enormous amount of time restoring old cars and motorbikes and, for them, it is important that they have this opportunity. In some cases, they find these old vehicles in a disused barnyard somewhere or under storage somewhere or, in some cases—

Ms Chapman: Ivan Venning's shed.

Mr GRIFFITHS: Or the member for Schubert's shed, potentially, as the member for Bragg comments. But they want to make sure they are pristine, and it is a great opportunity to preserve an important part of Australia's motoring history. Every effort is made to ensure that the vehicle is returned to mint condition and, if you have ever had the chance to look at these old vehicles, you know that they are spectacular. There is no other way to describe it. I have had the opportunity to be with the member for Schubert in a 1912 Hupmobile, I think it was, and—

Mr Bignell: What about the Goggomobile?

Mr GRIFFITHS: G-O-G-G-O. No, it was a 1912 Hupmobile, and was part of a rally to do with Kernewek Lowender, which is the Cornish festival on the Copper Coast. We were cruising along at 75km/h an hour, or thereabouts, beautifully.

The Hon. R.B. Such interjecting:

Mr GRIFFITHS: No, we were out on the wide open roads. So, you have to appreciate it. The member for Schubert is very concerned that there are hundreds of people in South Australia who are being forced to go into an open market auction system, at great cost, often when they do not have the financial capacity to do so, and their real desire is to ensure that there is an opportunity for that class of vehicle to be recognised and for the numberplate that applies to it to remain with it.

There might be some other people who want to talk on this. I commend the member for Schubert for putting forward the bill. We are concerned that the intention to just auction off those licence plates is purely a revenue-raising measure. It does not reflect the will of those members of our community who want to have that important link with history and the vehicles that they have repaired, drive and keep on the road. New generations of young people would have a chance to look at them and wonder, 'That numberplate looks a bit strange. Why isn't it the old original one?' It is a good move, and I hope that other members of the chamber are prepared to support the bill, also.

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (11:14): The government does not support this bill, for two reasons. The first is that the bill itself is problematic in terms of its operation. The second is that, while it may not be a perfect system for everyone, we believe that the current system provides for choice between recognising the sentimentality of plates to individuals as well as benefits returned to the community. It is important to note that section 71A of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 states that numberplates remain the property of the Crown. The member for Schubert refers to the numberplates being 'forfeited', implying some level of ownership of the plates.

Numberplates are primarily for enforcement officers to identify a particular vehicle and determine whether the vehicle is legally on the road. When the plates fall into disuse by not being part of a registered vehicle and are no longer an accurate identifier of legal access to the road network, the registrar resumes them. The proposed bill attempts to recognise the right of an individual who is a descendant of someone who had a particular numberplate in the past, even though the original user never had the right themselves.

While it is not clear in the bill what rights are to be offered, advice from the registrar is that numeric numberplates should continue to be made only through a class specific rights agreement offered through public auction. This reduces administrative complexity and ensures a fair and efficient process is given to all persons interested in retaining one of the state’s first series of numberplates.

The member for Schubert has stated that owners of vintage vehicles wish to keep the originality of their car and pass on the numberplate to their descendants. If a vehicle is registered to joint owners and the transport department is notified of the death of one of those owners, the vehicle may be transferred into the remaining owner’s name. If that vehicle has a numeric numberplate on it without rights, there is no change. The remaining registered owner can continue to register that vehicle with that numberplate.

It is only if the vehicle registration lapses or the vehicle ownership is transferred that the numeric numberplate is required to be returned to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. If the bill were passed as proposed, it would allow family members to gain class specific rights for these numberplates. These rights would then allow them to allocate these plates to any vehicle in their name and also sell them by private sale at any time.

The bill would also lead to issues with multiple claims from different family members and, as a result, possible disputes between families over ownership. The definition of those able to claim a plate in the bill would include not only grandchildren but also siblings, wives, partners, partners of partners and, it appears, perhaps anyone else with even a tenuous link to a vehicle they may not have sat in.

This bill also presents a problem in failing to recognise whether someone else has already purchased a specific number. Are those to be usurped? To do so would create confusion, uncertainty and possible claims by current numberplate holders who paid market price. I understand that every vehicle owner with a numeric plate allocated had the opportunity to purchase the rights to the vehicle’s plate, initially prior to the Great Plate Auction in 1985 and right up until approximately 2008.

The current system of a public auction provides for all. Those who wish to purchase plates are able to do so and others who may not be able to afford a plate benefit through safer roads. The current system provides transparency and is not complex to administer. The revenue from the sale of numberplates goes to the Highways Fund for road transport and road safety initiatives. Given that the loss of income used for saving lives on the road could be significant, and given the significant complexities in changing the system, the government does not support this bill.

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (11:18): I thank the house for the time to allow me to raise this matter, firstly in this house, and also with the members I did actually personally contact. I do declare initially and upfront—and I have declared before—that I am a vintage car enthusiast. I own several and I have three on historic motor vehicle plates which I purchased over the years, but for nothing like the prices they are expected to bring today.

In fact, the Hupmobile that the member for Goyder just spoke about is on a four-digit numberplate, which I paid $700 for, which I thought was reasonable, and that is the original number on that car. Without that number on the front of that car, it just would not be the car it is. I have no personal advantage at this moment to push this forward other than that I know exactly the heartache that a lot of these people are putting up with.

I am disappointed to now realise that the government will not be supporting this. I heard what the member has just said and I am very disappointed. I hope the caucus had a full debate on this and you all had your say, because I cannot understand how you come up with this position. I was happy for the government to amend this to ensure safety, and for some of the matters that the member for Port Adelaide just raised to be addressed by amendment, but you did not do that. I am very disappointed.

I thank the hundreds of historic car owners, the people and the 126 car clubs and motorcycle clubs that they belong to, for their support. I particularly thank all of the state's car clubs and motorcycle clubs that responded to the petition. There was not one dissenting voice. I thank them all. The old car club fraternity in South Australia is vibrant and strong, probably the most active and successful in the world. Our international event, the Bay to Birdwood, is a real focus for the vintage, veteran and classic car and motorbike fraternity. We debatably have the highest number of historic vehicles per head of population than anywhere in the world because we collected these cars up many years ago through fine collectors like the late Mr Rainsford and Mr Vinall and many others, right back to the twenties.

This issue has legs out there. As I have said, the nub of this issue is allowing car owners to retain the original numbers of their cars, many of which have been in the family since new. I sent the photo of Mr Collins around to members. You can see that it is genuine. Some of these cars are over 90 years old. I circulated a photo of Mr Collins from Naracoorte and I said:

The proud owner of his father's 1929 Oakland, which the family has owned since new.

On Mr Collins Sr's passing the car sat for a short while and the registration expired. You can imagine how son Eric felt when he went to re-register the car in his name and was told he could not use the number that was on the car because—as the member for Port Adelaide just said—it is the property of the state. What a load of rubbish. The number 100-926 was not his to be used. If he wanted it he would have to buy it at auction. It would probably have a very high reserve price. You cannot get a bargain because the government ensures that you do not. We now have a very inflated price on these plates of approximately $3,000.

I think it is a disgrace. This beautiful car now has this grotesque white plate, XHV-099, plastered across the front of it. I have given you a photograph. Have a look. It is a disgrace. It really destroys the unique character of the car, the very incongruous mark across the front of the car. It totally distracts from all of its classic features.

So, who won out of this? No-one. Mr Collins could not justify the cost so he lost the use of the plate. The government did not get the money and the numberplate dealer—who I know very well, he is a friend of the family—did not get his commission either. So, nobody wins. It is a real disgrace. A true enthusiast is disappointed and a state heritage item is defaced. These cars are part of our state's built heritage and give so much pleasure and interest to so many people.

I cannot understand the government's position on this. I gave the undertaking to accept any amendment that would ensure that any plate that was granted an amnesty like this could not be subsequently sold at a profit. Most car enthusiasts have no intention to ever cash out the plate and have no problem for this legislation to carry a clause to prohibit it. The government is using this issue to revenue raise, with no consideration for the genuine car enthusiast wanting to keep the car original. I thank the house for its time. I would urge members to support it, but it does not look as though it is going to be successful and I am very disappointed.

Second reading negatived.