Justice Ministry banks on speed fines
13 August 2004By OSKAR ALLEY
Justice Ministry documents reveal the cash-strapped department is relying on funds from more police-issued speeding tickets, prompting renewed claims that speed cameras are being used as a "cash cow".
The Government's insistence that speeding fines are about road safety - not making money - is under fire from the Opposition, which says unwitting motorists are paying for budget shortfalls.
National Party MP Tony Ryall said yesterday that the speeding ticket and speed camera schemes were being abused to fund a Government department that had cried poor.
He produced two documents showing the Justice Ministry was banking on more police tickets this year to add $3.5 million to its budget, after the Government declined its requests for more money. One document suggests Finance Minister Michael Cullen told the ministry to seek more money from court fines and police tickets to bolster its coffers.
The Government and police deny any wrongdoing, saying the number of police-issued tickets has, in fact, decreased this year.
Mr Ryall, who obtained the documents under the Official Information Act, said they proved the ministry had planned to milk police-issued tickets to bolster its budget. "This is the proof that police speeding tickets are a cash cow being used to prop up government departments," he said.
"It can't be a coincidence that in March the ministry needed money and was counting on an extra $3.5 million in tickets, then magically three months later, police announce a 25 per cent hike in the number of tickets this year. The papers show it's the ministry pulling the police's strings, so now we know it's all about money, not road safety."
One document, prepared in January, shows Dr Cullen told the ministry it could "find additional money" from increasing infringement fees and improved fines collections. The second document, from March, shows the department was banking on a $3.5 million increase in police-issued fines from their new "anytime, anywhere" speed camera regime.
The following month, police pulled down signs warning motorists they were in speed camera areas. In June, police revealed they planned to issue up to 400,000 tickets this financial year, up 25 per cent on last year.
Police Minister George Hawkins rejected Mr Ryall's claims that the ministry was trying to cash in on police tickets, saying the number of police-issued tickets was decreasing.
"I think those people will be disappointed, because speed's coming down on our roads, as far as the revenue goes, but absolutely delighted that we now have safer roads and a dropping road toll."
Though the public may not like speed campaigns, the drop in tickets issued suggested people were "getting the message", Mr Hawkins said.
Police national road safety manager Steve Fitzgerald said it was police, and only police, who decided how many tickets were issued each year.
"They are purely operational decisions for police and made by us," he said. Though police had "guesstimated" issuing 25 per cent more tickets this year, the reality was that the number of tickets was decreasing.
"Those numbers we produced were a best guess based on the previous year's experience, but we're delighted with the current numbers on the basis that there's fewer people offending."
Dr Cullen's office said he would not have told the ministry to tell police to issue more tickets.
Automobile Association spokesman George Fairbairn said if the ministry needed more money it should work harder to collect the $574 million owed in overdue court fines. "You can't expect motorists to respect speed cameras if it's proved they're for revenue gathering or to help the Government balance the books."
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Originally Posted by wkid_one
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