VEHICLE SECURITY

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:04): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police, representing the Minister for Transport, questions in relation to vehicle security.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: Honourable members may recall my matter of interest speech on 9 April, when I outlined a matter concerning a constituent whose car was stolen as a result of someone obtaining a copy of their car key from the distributor. This was done by merely quoting the vehicle identification number and licence plate number, without any further identification.

Vehicle identification numbers are not only stamped in the engine bay of cars but they also appear on all registration labels issued after 1989. Considering that both these pieces of information are easily visible from the outside of a vehicle without need of interference, my questions are:

1. Can the minister advise why there is a need for both the vehicle identification number and the licence plate number to be displayed on the registration label?

2. If it is a necessity, why could this not be in a coded form in a similar fashion to credit card scrambling?

3. Is the minister aware of any other situations where vehicle identification numbers have been abused in order to aid the theft of motor vehicles?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:05): I thank the honourable member for his questions. It would indeed concern me as Minister for Police if it was that easy to get keys to vehicles. We are doing what we can to reduce motor vehicle theft; in fact, the police have been very successful. It is one of those areas where there has been a very significant reduction in victim reported crime over the past six years of this government. I think that the question is reasonable. In relation to the latter part, certainly, as Minister for Police I am not aware of this being an issue. I will certainly take it up as Minister for Police, but I will also refer it to the Minister for Transport, who, obviously, has responsibility for the issuing of registration labels, and I will ask him to consider the matters raised by the honourable member.