Ballina Information Blog

Member for Ballina Don Page has asked the StateGovernment to impose a moratorium on the payment of infringement notices issued in a three-month period for people booked for speeding in the Ewingsdale speed camera zone.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday night, Mr Page said: “Many locals are planning a protest to express their anger and some are challenging the fines in court.

“However, a large number do not have the financial resources or ability to take time off work or to take court action.

“I am extremely unhappy with this situation. In light of the abnormally high number of infringements, around 97 per day in the late March to mid-July period compared to an average 12 per day normally, and based on the information that I received from the Office of State Revenue under freedom of information, I call on the Minister for Roads and the Treasurer to place a moratorium on the payment of infringement notices for three months.

“That will enable constituents to gather together evidence and facts and to challenge the accuracy of the camera in court.

“A moratorium will also give the Government an opportunity to reconsider the issue in light of the information I placed before the House today.

“Finally, I note that there are precedents for inaccurate cameras in this State, and this Ewingsdale camera appears to be the latest case in point.”

Mr Page said he had received more phone calls and correspondence from people questioning the accuracy of the speed camera than any other issue during his 19 years as the Member for Ballina.

To read the full text of Mr Page’s speech and for more comments on the speed camera issue, click here.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 5:49 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.