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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-06-02 Daily Xml
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MOTOR VEHICLES (MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 14 May 2009. Page 2398.)

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (16:18): I rise on behalf of the opposition to speak to this bill, which was introduced by the Minister for Transport in another place and supported by the opposition in that place. It makes two amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act. Under that act, the fees for professional, medical and other services rendered to those injured in motor vehicle accidents had been linked to the fees under the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. That act was amended last year, and one of the changes made was that the scale of charges for the above services was to be set out by ministerial notice rather than by regulation. On 1 July this year transitional provisions will end and the regulations will have no effect.

The bill changes references to the scale of charges prescribed by regulation under the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act to references to the scale of charges applying under the Motor Vehicles Act. The second amendment in the bill relates to the proof of service of notices of disqualification from holding or obtaining a driver's licence. In 2007 parliament passed a bill with the same title, requiring a person receiving a notice to attend a customer service office or a post office to acknowledge receipt of the notice. If the person did not respond to the notice a process server would serve it professionally. The amendment was to prevent someone from claiming that they had not received the notice, and the opposition supported the bill at the time.

The current bill provides that the cost of those requirements is to be borne by the driver. If someone attends to acknowledge the notice then the fee is $24 but, if a process server is to be engaged to deliver it, it is a $60 fee. If no contact is made by the person through either measure the Registrar of Motor Vehicles can refuse to transact any business with the person until they pay the $60 and acknowledge receipt of the notice.

Consultation with industry stakeholders, including the RAA, indicated that they did not have any problems with this particular piece of legislation and were happy to support it. With those few comments, the opposition supports the bill.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (16:22): I thank all honourable members for their most important contributions to this bill and I look forward to it progressing expeditiously through the committee stage.

Bill read a second time and taken through its remaining stages.

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