Proposed fine for driving without a licence reduced

The government has reduced the proposed fine for drivers who travel without being in possession of their licence from $10,000 to $2,000.

This was revealed by Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Kamina Johnson Smith, as the Upper House this morning resumed debate on the new Road Traffic Act.

At the same time, Johnson Smith said a proposal by some opposition senators for drivers who breach the proposed law to be given a 48-hour grace period to produce their driver's licence to the police has been rejected.

“The issue is the inability of the police at the time of an offence to identify the offender, the true offender and Mr President we have not accepted the argument posited that a 48-hour grace period is a useful and flexible way to get behavioural change," noted Johnson Smith.

She noted that the requirement is not new.

“We want clarity and certainty, not a transitional period. We will educate the public leading up to implementation, prior to the Act coming into force, but people must understand that it is the law.”

Meanwhile, a suggestion by Opposition Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns to increase the $10,000 fine for not having a Certificate of Fitness was accepted.

The proposed fine is now $15,000.

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