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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-12-01 Daily Xml
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MOTOR VEHICLES (MISCELLANEOUS NO. 2) AMENDMENT BILL

Final Stages

Consideration in committee of the Legislative Council's amendments.

Amendment No. 1:

The Hon. P. CAICA: I move:

That the Legislative Council's amendment No. 1 be agreed to.

On behalf of my colleague, minister O'Brien, I will be handling this particular matter. This bill has been returned from the other place with two amendments. The first is a government amendment that takes up the suggestion made by the member for Kavel—and I certainly acknowledge his involvement in this matter—dealing with high-powered vehicles, and providing for the classification of vehicles to be prescribed in regulation and for specific kinds of vehicles to be notified by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles in the GovernmentGazette.

The second amendment, which is opposed in this chamber, increases the maximum learner driver speed from 80 km/h to 100 km/h outside metropolitan Adelaide. At present, learner drivers are allowed to travel at only 100 km/h when accompanied by a driving instructor in a clearly marked driving school vehicle fitted with dual breaks.

The reason given for the amendment was that it provides an opportunity for learner drivers to practise driving at higher speeds, similar to the speed at which they would be able to drive when they obtain their provisional licence, while they have the benefit of driving with a qualified supervising driver. Another reason given was the difficulty of entering into high-speed roads, such as the South-Eastern Freeway, and the problems of tailgating by vehicles permitted to travel at higher speed.

The government unsuccessfully opposed the amendment based on the practicality and enforceability of this amendment, particularly as metropolitan Adelaide is not signposted, which means that neither SAPOL nor a learner driver would easily be able to know where it started and where it finished. At this stage, I move that this committee concurs with amendment No. 1 made by the Legislative Council and does not concur with amendment No. 2.

Mr GOLDSWORTHY: I am pleased that the government has seen fit to agree with the amendment that the opposition sought to make when the debate occurred in the lower house and that it successfully adopted, when moved in the upper house, the definition of high-powered vehicles. I think it is important that the parliament has some oversight of what constitutes the description of a high-powered vehicle. I am pleased that the government has agreed to the opposition's suggestion.

In relation to amendment No. 2, I understand the government's reasons for opposing it, but I also understand that the minister for agriculture will move an amendment enabling learner drivers to drive at 100 km/h after we have dealt with this matter.

Motion carried.

Amendment No. 2:

The Hon. P. CAICA: I move:

That the House of Assembly disagrees with the amendment made by the Legislative Council and makes the following amendment in lieu thereof:

Clause 9, page 8, lines 38 to 40 and page 9, lines 1 to 13 [clause 9, inserted section 75A(16)]—Delete subsection (16) and substitute:

(16) The holder of a learner's permit must not drive a motor vehicle on a road in any part of the state at a speed exceeding 100 kilometres an hour.

Maximum penalty: $1,250.

Consequential amendment

That the House of Assembly makes the following consequential amendment:

Schedule 1, page 27, after line 18 [Schedule 1, clause 4]—After paragraph (b) insert:

(c) on the commencement of section 9 of this act, section 75A(5aa) of the principal act (as in force immediately before that commencement) ceases to apply to the holder of the permit;

(d) section 75A(16) of the principal act (as in force after that commencement) applies to the holder of such a permit as if the permit had been issued after that commencement.

In an effort to progress this bill before parliament rises for the last time this year, there have been ongoing discussions about the learner driver speed limit amendment with the member for Kavel, and I acknowledge his positive involvement in that process and, of course, his colleague who moved the amendment in the other place.

As a result, I now move the amendment standing in my name. This amendment is similar to amendment No. 2, but simpler and, by a long shot, far more practicable. It removes the reference to metropolitan Adelaide and, in effect, enables any learner driver to drive up to 100 km/h, subject to other applicable speed limits, and—as goes without saying but I will say it anyway—when accompanied by a properly registered driver. There is also a consequential amendment that will ensure that this maximum speed will apply to all learner drivers.

In moving this amendment, the government recognises that learner drivers must be accompanied, as I mentioned before, by a qualified supervising driver, who can monitor and advise on where and when to approach this speed. With the extended period on a learner's permit that is contained in the bill, a learner driver will have additional time to gain the experience and confidence to drive at the higher speed while supervised.

I encourage the committee to support the amendment so that this very important bill can pass before the end of this year, and implementation of these initiatives can occur as soon as practicable.

Mr GOLDSWORTHY: I appreciate the government's position relating to this important issue. In relation to the previous amendment where 100 km/h was outlined in the amendment outside the metropolitan area, we acknowledge that—in terms of a policing issue and the like—it would be difficult to manage, and we appreciate the government proposing the amendment that the minister has moved.

In summary, I think this is a good example of the government and the opposition working together for a positive outcome. We, on this side of the committee, realised that there needed to be some changes to the graduated licensing system, particularly as it relates to younger drivers and putting measures in place to reduce the risk of serious crashes and/or death of those younger drivers.

There has been a lot of public debate about those issues, and I think the whole process in the parliament in dealing with this legislation, as I said, is a good example of both sides of the chamber working together for a positive outcome for the benefit of the community.

Motion carried.

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