Safety – Amenity – Access – Health

The Walking Class Heroes

Patrons: Dame Leonie Kramer AC DBE & The Hon Sir Laurence Street AC KCMG

MEDIA RELEASE 

The Chairman of the PCA, Harold Scruby today released the results of a Freedom of Information (FoI) application revealing the number and value of parking infringements issued by all NSW Councils and NSW Police for the year ended 30 June 2008. 

Mr Scruby said:  “This data should concern every parent in this state.  It proves that Councils generally cannot be trusted to enforce the parking laws, especially around schoolzones.

Out of over 180 Councils in NSW, in the year ended 30 June 2008, the FoIs revealed:

1          There are over 10,000 schoolzones

2          90 Councils did not issue one ticket for illegal parking in schoolzones

3          An average of 1.84 tickets were issued per schoolzone for illegal parking

4          The number of [P] Public Safety infringements issued was 27% while the number of [T] Traffic Flow (parking meters and time zones) was 83% of total infringements issued

5          Councils like Maitland with 106 schoolzones issued 9 tickets and Cessnock with 111 schoolzones issued 1 ticket

In May 2007, the NSW Department of Local Government released its ‘Review of Parking Enforcement’.  Ignoring all the available data it found:  (QUOTE) ‘the review has not found any evidence that councils use parking enforcement primarily as a revenue-raising tool.’

Mr Scruby said:  “This FoI has proven that in NSW, there’s a meter-maid mentality: It’s all about revenue-raising and safety be damned.  There’s: No direction, objectives, priority, consistency, transparency, or accountability.  There’s No auditing or Council comparisons. No bench-marking. No state-wide review. No overall management. No duty of care.

“We are calling on all three Ministers (Local Government, Roads and Police) to create a taskforce which constantly monitors all Councils so that safety comes before parking meters.

“Our children are our greatest asset.  In NSW, we have some of the toughest legislation in the world for schoolzone parking offences.  But most of these Councils will not enforce these laws for fear of upsetting the natives (the voters, rate-payers and residents).  Their parking officers can spot an expired meter from Mars, but can’t see a pantechnicon with its hazard lights flashing, parked across a children’s pelican crossing.

“They patrol, but they won’t enforce.  They tell the offenders to ‘move on’.  They issue warnings but they won’t issue tickets.  They focus on the easy targets where there is no potential for harm, where the issuing of parking tickets is robotic and non-confrontational.

“Road Trauma costs NSW over $6 billion per annum.  But local Councils do not pay one cent towards these costs.  That’s why the NSW Government must act immediately and take an active role in the management of parking enforcement to ensure that all Councils put safety first and meters last.”  Mr Scruby said.

Contact:  Harold Scruby – (0418) 110-011 – See full details of the FoI at:  www.walk.com.au

click here to download the schoolzones FOI document