Motor Vehicles (Driver Licensing) Amendment Bill
14/11/2013
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (11:02): I do not propose to speak at great length about this bill. It relates to a matter that I consider to be of great importance and is a bill I intend to support; however, I felt it important, when presented with the chance to comment upon it, to raise a key issue that I feel must be acknowledged in this area.
The bill seeks to address a serious issue affecting the people that reside in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in the state’s Far North western corner and the Maralinga Tjarutja lands that lie just to the south. To very quickly sum up its provisions, the bill provides for an exemption from some of the conditions for obtaining a driver’s license for people living in remote Indigenous communities such as these. It is a hugely important step, as it increases the opportunities for people living in these communities to get a driver’s licence and increase their mobility.
The driver’s licence conditions have very much been written with an urban population context in mind and in very remote areas, like the APY lands, they are difficult if not impossible to achieve. The creation of these exemptions will, it is hoped, increase mobility and improve road safety by increasing the number of licensed drivers in the area.
From my own trip to the APY lands, I can vividly recall the sides of the roads littered with the wrecks of a great number of cars of all descriptions—twisted, burnt out and half dismantled—that have all been devoured by the very challenging and demanding roads. The abundance of all manner of wildlife and the great distances between communities make travel difficult and quite dangerous. I shall spare you the full anecdote but, last year, my staff and I spent several hours driving back and forth to assist a family that had become stranded with a flat tyre around an hour out of Amata.
The exemptions will initially only apply to a small number of people; however, it is my understanding that the government hopes to expand this in 2014, when it is hoped a road safety education program for the area will begin to be delivered. This is where I fear the danger lies. There is too great a tendency for the temporary to overstay its welcome and become the permanent where the APY lands are concerned. One need only look at the issue of conciliators that recently has been discussed here and elsewhere. For three years, from 2010 to 2013, the minister failed to appoint APY conciliators in accordance with the APY Land Rights Act of 1981, and it is my understanding that nobody has ever been appointed to the equivalent position under the Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act 1984.
I want here and now to put on the record both my hope that this will be a great initiative for the people of the state’s remote Indigenous communities and my fear that this could become another great plan half implemented. On this occasion I sincerely hope to be proved wrong, and I hope the minister will be able to provide some reassuring comment in that regard in his summing up. With those words, I support the bill on behalf of Dignity for Disability and commend it to the council.
