Motor Vehicles (Suitability to Hold Licence) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 16 November 2017.)

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (17:51): I rise to speak to the Motor Vehicles (Suitability to Hold Licence) Amendment Bill and note that we are supporting this bill. I appreciate the minister and the house holding this over, as I had to have leave the other night when this was on, so I appreciate the adjournment. This bill amends the Motor Vehicles Act 1959, and the Registrar of Motor Vehicles has a longstanding discretionary power to refuse the issue or renewal of driver's licences or learner's permits or to suspend the same or to put probationary conditions on these in order to minimise risk of accident, injury or repetition of offences by a driver.

This section can apply regardless of the driver having undergone a period of disqualification in relation to offences. Ordinarily, these powers are used in exceptional circumstances to keep dangerous drivers off the road. The bill aims to enhance the registrar's powers to take action against dangerous drivers, whereas in the past these powers could only be used in relation to individuals on previously convicted or expiated offences. The criteria will be broadened to include past behaviour, indicating to the registrar that action should be taken to minimise the risk of injury or offences occurring rather than being required to consider whether the action would prevent the risk eventuating.

The bill clarifies that when the registrar determines to take action under this new provision, the overriding and pre-eminent consideration is the protection of the public, and new clause 1A is a clarification rather than a change of operation in the act that, when making decisions outside the ordinary licensing regime, the registrar should take the reasonable and responsible position of placing the greatest weight of their decision on the public's protection. The bill makes clear that the registrar should take into account any possible hardship eventuating from a decision in relation to a licence or learner's permit and that individuals affected continue to have rights of internal and external review under the act.

I appreciate the minister's office sending me through some information. I have had some offline communication with the minister about this because I saw the story in The Advertiser. I will declare my interest. This is about Michelle Thiele, a constituent of mine. Just to make sure I put the interest right on the board, I attended her wedding and I also worked with her on the broomrape committee. I certainly still have a bit to do with her to this day. I wanted to put that on the record. I want to make the point that Michelle contacted me in relation to this bill, and the short version of that conversation is that she is basically prepared to accept her fate. I really appreciated her making the call because what this means—and it is probably the correct decision—is that she will probably never drive again, at least not on the road anyway.

Holding a South Australian driver's licence is a privilege not a right. It is important that we all do what we can to ensure safety on our roads and take dangerous drivers off the road when necessary. These changes will ensure that road safety and the protection of the public are the paramount consideration for the Registrar of Motor Vehicles when deciding to remove someone's driver's licence. While these laws will be used only in exceptional circumstances, they will ensure that the registrar has the power to keep dangerous drivers off our roads, because dangerous drivers do ruin lives and their actions cause extraordinary pain and suffering to families and loved ones and impacts the broader community as well.

To provide a history of this, on 6 February 2001 Mrs Michelle Thiele was convicted of driving without due care following a motor vehicle crash on 26 April 2000 at the intersection of Thiele Road and Burdett Road, Pompoota, which caused the death of Mr John Mitchell. It is a road I travel quite a lot and I know the intersection well. On 10 February 2009, Mrs Thiele was convicted of a second driving without due care offence following another crash at the same intersection on 23 June 2007, which resulted in the death of Mr Graham Bryant. He was on a motorbike, and I understand that family members were following.

Mrs Thiele was disqualified from driving by the court for 18 months, from 10 February 2009 to 9 August 2010, and her licence was suspended for that period. On 27 October 2009, the Deputy Coroner released his findings following an inquest into the deaths of Mr Mitchell and Mr Bryant. In his findings, the Deputy Coroner specifically reminded the Registrar of Motor Vehicles of powers contained in section 82 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 to cancel, suspend, refuse to issue or issue a licence subject to probationary or provisional conditions in order to prevent accident or injury.

On 14 July 2010, the registrar wrote to Mrs Thiele advising of the decision to cancel her driver's licence effective immediately, thus preventing Mrs Thiele from recommencing driving after the court-imposed disqualification. On 4 August 2010, Mrs Thiele lodged an application for review of the decision from the registrar, as provided under section 98Z of the Motor Vehicles Act. The review committee met on 8 December 2010 and confirmed the registrar's decision to cancel Mrs Thiele's driver's licence.

Mrs Thiele appealed the registrar's decision to the District Court. Judge Costello of the District Court upheld the appeal and substituted an order that the registrar issue Mrs Thiele a driving permit and, subsequently, a licence subject to specified conditions. The registrar appealed the decision of the District Court to the Full Supreme Court. The matter was heard on 10 April 2012 and on 4 May 2012 the judgement was handed down. The registrar's appeal was allowed and the cancellation of Mrs Thiele's driver's licence remained in place.

Although the decision to cancel Mrs Thiele's licence was upheld, Mrs Thiele was entitled to apply for a licence at any time, so on 7 January 2013 Mrs Thiele applied for a learner's permit; however, the registrar refused her application. Mrs Thiele again applied for a review of the decision, which was referred to the review committee. The review committee upheld the decision and on 25 November 2013 Mrs Thiele again lodged an appeal with the District Court.

On 30 November 2016, Judge Davison of the District Court ordered the following: the decisions of the deputy registrar and review committee be set aside, a learner's permit be issued to Mrs Thiele, Mrs Thiele successfully complete programs outlined by a motor driving instructor, Mrs Thiele be subject to such conditions as the registrar considers appropriate under the Motor Vehicles Act.

In the registrar's opinion, Mrs Thiele's ability to drive a motor vehicle was not in question, it was her lapses of concentration, inattention and complacency that presented a risk of a repeat of the offences that resulted in the other drivers' deaths. Prior to the first District Court appeal, the registrar researched the possibilities of retraining Mrs Thiele but was unable to find a program considered suitable to address Mrs Thiele's issues, that being her lack of concentration and attention to the task at hand.

Sitting extended beyond 18:00 on motion of Hon. S.C. Mullighan.

Mr PEDERICK: I thank the house for the extension. As I said, I have driven past this intersection many times and I have looked at where both these accidents happened—it is the road that leads down to the Thiele farm—and, for the life of me, it is for a simple reason that Michelle did not give way to the left. I do not know what she did. She obviously did not look, but something happened there. To have it happen once and for someone to be killed is bad enough, but to have virtually the identical accident on the same section of road and for someone else to lose their life is almost too painful to think about. I would hate to be a member of one of the families involved who lost their loved ones.

I know that Michelle would like to drive again but, after having a conversation with her a couple of weeks ago when this was tabled, and it did get opened up as a bill, she was quite prepared to take her medicine. I said, 'Two people have been killed in the same place, and it's hard to comprehend because it is one of those road rules where you just have to give way.' It is on the Karoonda side of the river on the Murray Bridge-Mannum road. If only she had taken due care there would not have been the deaths of these two gentlemen.

Michelle acknowledges the terrible tragedy that she has put on these two families who will never have their loved ones back. As I said, she is at peace with this. I was a bit intrigued when I saw it in The Advertiser but, as the local member and as someone who knows Michelle quite well, I fully support the legislation and understand the intent. She is prepared to accept her medicine. With that, I close my remarks.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (18:01): I thank the member for Hammond for his remarks. This bill is born out of the worst of circumstances, in particular, not just one fatal accident but two. It is regrettable for any government to find it necessary to take the action that we seek to take in this bill, that is, to broaden the powers of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to consider public safety in the withholding or cancellation or suspension of a driver's licence. I will not go any further into the details of what the bill seeks to do and why, because I think the member for Hammond has done quite well in outlining that.

I would like to make a couple of comments about the member for Hammond's contribution. Given that the member for Hammond has declared that this involves one of his constituents, and indeed he knows the individual who has given rise to this bill, it says a lot about the member for Hammond that he would choose to put the public interest at large across the state ahead of, in this case, what would be the interests of one of his constituents.

I thank him for navigating that very difficult situation that he finds himself in and for offering his support to the government's bill. In this circumstance, I certainly do not envy the position that the member for Hammond is in. With that comment, I thank both the member for Hammond and the opposition for their support of this bill and I commend it to the house.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (18:03): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

At 18:04 the house adjourned until Wednesday 29 November 2017 at 11:00.