31 August 2011
Mr MORRIS (Mornington) — Nothing could amplify more the contrast between the approach of this government and that of the previous government than the contribution we have just heard.
There was the big picture, the Victorian transport plan, unfunded and entirely undeliverable. There was also the bus review that the member referred to. I am not sure what his experience was, but I gather it was a little happier than mine. The former government had the review and there were some excellent recommendations which were not released publicly until I prised them out of the department. They were a series of recommendations which were unfunded, undelivered and not even referred to by the Labor candidate at the last election.
I would like to do something which is apparently a bit novel in this debate — that is, talk about the bill before the house. The Transport Legislation Amendment (Public Transport Safety) Bill amends a series of acts. Part 2 amends the Transport Integration Act 2010, part 3 amends the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983, part 4 amends the Rail Safety Act 2006, part 5 amends the Bus Safety Act 2009 and part 6 amends the Bus Services Act 1995.
In a public transport sense it truly is an omnibus bill. I suspect time is going to beat me tonight in terms of my being able to look at the details of the bill, so I will concentrate on what I think are a few of the more important things.
Part 2 of the bill deals with, as I said, amendments to the Transport Integration Act 2010. Clause 3 provides a mechanism for dealing with the resolution of conflicting decisions of the regulators. There is a situation where there is potential for conflict between the decision of the director, transport safety, and the decision of the roads authority.
The bill sets in place a process through the Secretary of the Department of Transport for dealing with those issues. If the secretary is not able to deal with them because of statutory difficulties, the Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Roads will be able to deal with them.
The third‑last speaker mentioned that clause 4 deals with a long‑term error in terms of the maximum permissible blood alcohol content of operators — it is reduced from 0.15 to 0.015, which is consistent with the national rail safety law.
Clause 5 provides a process for dealing with a notification of incidents involving authorised officers. It stems from the Ombudsman’s report of late 2010. It reduces the time permitted in which to advise the department of those incidents from the current 14 days down to 48 hours so the department can deal with them in a much more timely manner. Clauses 6 and 7 also deal with matters arising from the Ombudsman’s report.
The bill addresses some important issues concerning transport safety. It is emblematic of the government’s no‑fuss, no‑nonsense, practical approach to issues that confront the state. I commend the bill to the house.
Business interrupted pursuant to standing orders.
Legislative Assembly 31 August 2011
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