❓ Mr. Love questions the Minister for Transport about fines issued during a period of free public transport, requesting an apology and waiver. The Minister defends the fines, citing the need to monitor public transport usage and the availability of an appeal process.
AnsweredQoN 121Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PUBLIC TRANSPORT — FINES
121. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Transport:
Thank you, Madam Speaker. We have
plenty of others. I refer to the almost $400 000 in fines handed out during the
Cook Labor government's so-called summer of free public transport.
Several members interjected.
Mr R.S. LOVE : There is your
ad!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members! Members, it is important that we hear the question.
Mr R.S. LOVE : I will get
there.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
Mr R.S. LOVE : The Minister
for Transport had put out these posts, and I just highlighted the summer of free
love public transport period from 24 December 2023.
Several members interjected.
Mr R.S. LOVE : We will get to
it!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Members, I may have to reconsider this being the last question, and I may get
the opposition to ask a couple more, if we are going to get this response from
the government. There will be no more for the government, though. Leader of the
Opposition.
Mr
R.S. LOVE : Noting the $400 000 in
fines, and noting the cost-of-living crisis, will the minister apologise to the 3 943 commuters who were slapped with
$100 fines during that period and commit to waiving or refunding those fines?
121. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Transport:
Thank you, Madam Speaker. We have
plenty of others. I refer to the almost $400 000 in fines handed out during the
Cook Labor government's so-called summer of free public transport.
Several members interjected.
Mr R.S. LOVE : There is your
ad!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members! Members, it is important that we hear the question.
Mr R.S. LOVE : I will get
there.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
Mr R.S. LOVE : The Minister
for Transport had put out these posts, and I just highlighted the summer of free
love public transport period from 24 December 2023.
Several members interjected.
Mr R.S. LOVE : We will get to
it!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Members, I may have to reconsider this being the last question, and I may get
the opposition to ask a couple more, if we are going to get this response from
the government. There will be no more for the government, though. Leader of the
Opposition.
Mr
R.S. LOVE : Noting the $400 000 in
fines, and noting the cost-of-living crisis, will the minister apologise to the 3 943 commuters who were slapped with
$100 fines during that period and commit to waiving or refunding those fines?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for that
question. The Nationals WA caring about public transport—I never thought
I would see it! We see the fake tears of the
Leader of the Opposition. We gave free public transport and over 10 million
people in Western Australia used that. There were 10 million boardings
on free public transport. As I said on the radio, those who feel particularly aggrieved or who had particular
circumstances have a right to appeal. Yesterday, I heard someone ring in
to 6PR saying that they had their fine waived because of their particular
circumstance. All those millions of people
who used their SmartRider or bought a SmartRider for the occasion would not
want the wholesale waiving of fines. If we waived those fines, there
would be questions about why we do not waive other fines, today or tomorrow. It
was a condition to use a SmartRider, and the reason is we want to monitor who
uses our public transport system. Unlike the opposition, we invest in public
transport, so we need to know who is using our public transport so we can
continue to invest in buses, trains and ferries.
Overwhelmingly, it was a success. We
saw record numbers of people having access to free public transport. As I said,
for those who had particular circumstances and want to appeal to the Public
Transport Authority, there is a mechanism. That mechanism existed over that
free period and in other times, so they are more than welcome to use it. But we
have to safeguard the integrity of our public transport system. A lot of people
did the right thing. I know that those people who did the right thing know that
they enjoyed five weeks of free public transport.
question. The Nationals WA caring about public transport—I never thought
I would see it! We see the fake tears of the
Leader of the Opposition. We gave free public transport and over 10 million
people in Western Australia used that. There were 10 million boardings
on free public transport. As I said on the radio, those who feel particularly aggrieved or who had particular
circumstances have a right to appeal. Yesterday, I heard someone ring in
to 6PR saying that they had their fine waived because of their particular
circumstance. All those millions of people
who used their SmartRider or bought a SmartRider for the occasion would not
want the wholesale waiving of fines. If we waived those fines, there
would be questions about why we do not waive other fines, today or tomorrow. It
was a condition to use a SmartRider, and the reason is we want to monitor who
uses our public transport system. Unlike the opposition, we invest in public
transport, so we need to know who is using our public transport so we can
continue to invest in buses, trains and ferries.
Overwhelmingly, it was a success. We
saw record numbers of people having access to free public transport. As I said,
for those who had particular circumstances and want to appeal to the Public
Transport Authority, there is a mechanism. That mechanism existed over that
free period and in other times, so they are more than welcome to use it. But we
have to safeguard the integrity of our public transport system. A lot of people
did the right thing. I know that those people who did the right thing know that
they enjoyed five weeks of free public transport.
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