❓ A parliamentary question regarding an infringement notice issued to a Member for Joondalup's daughter and allegations of improper behaviour by a revenue protection officer. The Minister's response details the review process, involvement of the Corruption and Crime Commission, and support for PTA policies.
AnsweredQoN 3271Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(a) have the reviews in relation to this incident been finalised; and
(b) if the answer to (a) is yes, what were the outcomes in relation to the fine being withdrawn and the allegations of improper behaviour by the revenue protection officer; and
(c) if the answer to (a) is no, when are the reviews expected to be finalised;
(d) will the Minister table a document relating to the incident; and
(i) if so, when; and
(ii) if not, why not; and
(e) does the Minister support the actions of the revenue protection officer involved?
(b) if the answer to (a) is yes, what were the outcomes in relation to the fine being withdrawn and the allegations of improper behaviour by the revenue protection officer; and
(c) if the answer to (a) is no, when are the reviews expected to be finalised;
(d) will the Minister table a document relating to the incident; and
(i) if so, when; and
(ii) if not, why not; and
(e) does the Minister support the actions of the revenue protection officer involved?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
6 May 2008
Responded by
Minister for Planning and Infrastructure
Response time
35 days
I do not accept that the Member for Joondalup's approach to my office in relation to the infringement issued against his daughter was a misuse of his position. The PTA and this office routinely receive complaints and objections in response to the receipt of infringement notices, often from parents on behalf of their children. It is also common for members of Parliament, including members of the Opposition, to similarly object or complain about infringements on behalf of their constituents. The Member for Joondalup's approach to this office rather than directly to the PTA conformed to the long-standing convention that Members of Parliament do not initiate communications directly with agencies, but rather through the responsible Minister. The approach was dealt with by my office, by referring it to the Public Transport Authority for its review and advice, no more or less favourably than a similar complaint from any other member of the public.
(a) No. The Member for Joondalup's complaint involved an allegation of misconduct by a Transit Officer and was therefore referred as a matter of course to the Corruption and Crime Commission who asked the Public Transport Authority to prepare an investigation report into the incident. The PTA Investigation Report has been completed and has been forwarded to the Corruption and Crime Commission for review by that body.
(b) N/a
(c) When the review process by the Corruption and Crime Commission is completed is a matter for the Commission.
(d) The Corruption and Crime Commission Act (the Act) provides that an investigation report prepared by an agency at the request of the Corruption and Crime Commission, in respect of an allegation of misconduct by a public officer, is "restricted matter" under the Act and cannot be disclosed unless directed by the Corruption and Crime Commission.
(i) Refer to (d) above.
(ii) Refer to (d) above
(e) I support the PTA's policy that passengers travelling on a concession ticket who require authorised proof of concession and cannot produce it on demand should, with very limited and specific exceptions (which did not apply in this case), be issued by Transit Officers with an infringement notice. To do otherwise would potentially result in increased fare evasion and selective enforcement.
However, I also note that there is an appeal period to challenge an infringement notice and that, where a tertiary student has been issued with an infringement notice for travelling without a valid concession card but produces a valid concession card (currently the Tertiary Student Smartrider) to the PTA within 28 days, it has been the longstanding policy of the PTA to withdraw the infringement notice. The PTA advise that this policy applies even where the student does not apply for and obtain the valid concession card until after incurring the infringement. Before the card is issued, the application form must have been endorsed for verification purposes by the tertiary educational institution in which the student is enrolled. If the student can therefore successfully have the card issued to them shortly after the infringement, it is likely they would have also been entitled to a valid concession card at the time of the infringement. The PTA estimates that well in excess of 1,000 infringement notices would have been withdrawn from Tertiary students in these circumstances in the past 12 months.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
(a) No. The Member for Joondalup's complaint involved an allegation of misconduct by a Transit Officer and was therefore referred as a matter of course to the Corruption and Crime Commission who asked the Public Transport Authority to prepare an investigation report into the incident. The PTA Investigation Report has been completed and has been forwarded to the Corruption and Crime Commission for review by that body.
(b) N/a
(c) When the review process by the Corruption and Crime Commission is completed is a matter for the Commission.
(d) The Corruption and Crime Commission Act (the Act) provides that an investigation report prepared by an agency at the request of the Corruption and Crime Commission, in respect of an allegation of misconduct by a public officer, is "restricted matter" under the Act and cannot be disclosed unless directed by the Corruption and Crime Commission.
(i) Refer to (d) above.
(ii) Refer to (d) above
(e) I support the PTA's policy that passengers travelling on a concession ticket who require authorised proof of concession and cannot produce it on demand should, with very limited and specific exceptions (which did not apply in this case), be issued by Transit Officers with an infringement notice. To do otherwise would potentially result in increased fare evasion and selective enforcement.
However, I also note that there is an appeal period to challenge an infringement notice and that, where a tertiary student has been issued with an infringement notice for travelling without a valid concession card but produces a valid concession card (currently the Tertiary Student Smartrider) to the PTA within 28 days, it has been the longstanding policy of the PTA to withdraw the infringement notice. The PTA advise that this policy applies even where the student does not apply for and obtain the valid concession card until after incurring the infringement. Before the card is issued, the application form must have been endorsed for verification purposes by the tertiary educational institution in which the student is enrolled. If the student can therefore successfully have the card issued to them shortly after the infringement, it is likely they would have also been entitled to a valid concession card at the time of the infringement. The PTA estimates that well in excess of 1,000 infringement notices would have been withdrawn from Tertiary students in these circumstances in the past 12 months.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.