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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Bills

Road Traffic (Evidentiary Provisions) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading (resumed on motion).

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:42): Previously, I spoke at length about the different detection devices out there and the need for these to be in use for road safety. Where it led to was that, in order for the prosecutor to tender a certificate at court, which is consistent with the Australian standard or procedures determined by the Commissioner of Police based on the manufacturer's specifications, there is an amendment required to section 175 of the Road Traffic Act to insert a provision that will enable the prosecution to continue. It has been introduced by the minister. He has reacted very quickly. He is very concerned about road safety in this state and has so acted.

Looking at some of the amendments, previously I spoke at length about a clause in section 175(3)(ba). Where it mentioned 'specified traffic speed analyser', this amendment seeks to insert after that 'that is a photographic detection device'. That still stands, but it basically provides a delineation to then move onto what is an insertion into section 175(3), which is (baa), and this deals with the Lidar detector devices. It states:

(baa) a document produced by the prosecution and purporting to be signed by the Commissioner of Police, or by any other police officer of or above the rank of inspector, and purporting to certify that a specified traffic speed analyser that is not a photographic detection device had been tested on a specified day in accordance with—

(i) either the appropriate Australian Standard for testing the analyser as in force on the day of testing; or

(ii) if there was no appropriate Australian Standard for testing the analyser in force on the day of testing—the manufacturer's specifications...

That allows for the presentation of the certificate that was used to test these Lidar devices in court, overcoming the need to have expert witnesses and this complex issue, which was causing consternation in the courts. This has been moved by the minister and should allow for the Lidar detection devices to be brought back into use by the South Australian police force.

I stress that SAPOL does not consider that the actual devices are unreliable; rather, the evidentiary requirement has proven more complex than anticipated. New paragraph (baa) helps to overcome this. While the Lidar devices have been withdrawn until this legislation is passed—which we are hoping is speedy—there are other options available to ensure that SAPOL continues its road safety focus. Motorists should not think there is a gap.

Earlier in my contribution I spoke about the different devices and how they work, and the evolution in these speed detection devices, from the simple strips a step-distance apart through to radar and on to the Lidar devices. The police want these back in operation so quickly because they allow flexibility. With some of the technology available these days, even GPS devices that come standard in cars show the location of fixed speed cameras. This means that if people want to game the system, they can slow down in anticipation.

We are trying to educate the community not to speed at all times. These mobile Lidar detection devices are very accurate; they have a narrow beam and cannot be detected by radar detection devices. It instils the fear that there could be a device pointing at you wherever you drive, and that is exactly what we want. We want to see people driving at the speed limit because there is only one method that is 100 per cent effective: not to speed at all. We want to stress that this will keep drivers and the community safe. The speedy passage of this bill through both houses will ensure that families will be able to drive safely and arrive home alive in the upcoming holiday season.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:47): I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who have spoken on this bill. I understand it has been requested to be moved through here expeditiously, and that has been outlined by the members who have spoken.

I would like to acknowledge the shadow minister (member for Elizabeth) and thank him for working with us on this. We briefed him late last week and kept him updated at regular intervals to make sure he knew exactly where we were going with the bill. The details behind that have been outlined prior to this. I also acknowledge that the opposition have said they will not need to go into committee on this, as they support the bill and want to see it go through both houses of parliament as quickly as possible. I thank the shadow minister very much for that.

Whilst we have been briefing the opposition along the way, we have also been briefing the crossbenchers and others in this place and in the upper house. We have made the effort to ensure they are as informed as possible. In fact, I was still reaching out to the crossbenchers in the upper house at lunchtime, only a couple of hours ago, to make sure that they were briefed on this. Whilst we want to get this through as soon as possible, we want to make sure that people are across the bill, provide them with information and answer any questions they may have.

I would like to thank the Attorney-General. One of the points she stressed right from the get-go was that the accuracy of the guns is not in question. The Attorney made it very clear that the Lidars worked perfectly fine. That has been accepted by the judge in the 2018 case, the lawyer who won the case, and also SAPOL and their technicians. They have all said that the guns work perfectly fine; it is just the certification and the fact that certification hinges around a pass/fail. Again, that has been highlighted. I would like to thank the Crown Solicitor's Office as well, as they have worked very hard to get this legislation through, and all the staff at SAPOL who worked very hard over the past little while to make sure this came to fruition.

The member for Heysen, as always, was very insightful. The Minister for Energy and Mining outlined the workarounds that SAPOL had been trying to do. Because of this legal loophole, as he pointed out, SAPOL had done everything in their power to find ways to get around having to make legislative change, but we got to a point where section 175 had to be adjusted. That is what we have before us here today.

The Minister for Education outlined how these Lidars are important and how well and efficiently they work in built-up areas. They are important for that. The Minister for Transport and Infrastructure made a very good contribution. He pointed out that road safety is a combined responsibility. I understand that from a policing point of view, and he understands that from a transport point of view. It is great working with him on that front because it is not 'one thing fixes everything': we need a concerted approach.

He talked about improving infrastructure such as road shoulders and intersections. He is working very hard to make that happen from an infrastructure point of view, and I look at road safety from a policing point of view. Together, we work very well on that front. The member for Kaurna asked us to hurry up. I appreciate that we need to get this through today. I understand that it is moving quickly, but I point out to the member for Kaurna that we are still briefing the crossbenchers. We are doing that as quickly as we possibly can. We thank him for his support in wanting to get it through.

I cannot mention people on the other side who are not here, so I will not go into that. To finish up, I commend the member for Morphett for his input. It has been a short period of time, but his technological understanding of the situation was really well outlined in this place and I commend him for that. He did an outstanding job of getting his head around the difference between Lidar, lasers, radars and the different technologies. His contribution was very valuable for anyone who wants to know the technical side of what is happening.

I thank those on the opposite side for supporting this bill and getting it through posthaste. Coming into the Christmas period, we want everyone to be safe on the roads—I cannot stress that enough. We want everyone to have a wonderful Christmas period with their families and make sure that they return in the new year safe on the roads, and we know that this bill will help do that.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:52): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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