Who will pay for privatisation of road safety?

The Government’s consultation process on proposed changes to the Warrant of Fitness system raises questions about how the changes will be paid for, Labour’s Transport Safety spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says.

“Documents show the Government ignored advice from both the police and the Ministry of Transport which each expressed reservations about proposals to reduce the frequency of WOF inspections.

“The police indicated that additional enforcement would be required to ensure road safety if fewer WOF inspections are carried out. If the Victorian model was implemented here that would mean around 500 additional officers on the road.

“However, National insists the police must ‘do more with less’, which begs the question: What will the police have to stop doing in order to check tyre tread?

“Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges has also hinted at Government plans to privatise road safety enforcement. Handing a core state function such as road safety enforcement to the private sector is abhorrent but even if the Government went ahead, it would still need to be funded. Where will that money come from?

“The views of other Government agencies including the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Justice, ACC and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet are unknown because they were blacked-out of the official documents as were large sections of the advice from the Police and Ministry of Transport.

“Clearly the Government has something to hide.

“New Zealanders will find it very difficult to have faith in the outcome of consultation on proposals that have been so poorly thought through and that leaves so many questions unanswered,” said Iain Lees-Galloway.