Media statement
For immediate release
18 August 2009

Government Merely Reinventing Wheel On Driving Age

UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne says the Government is just reinventing the wheel in its proposals regarding lifting the minimum driving age announced as part of its just released road safety discussion paper.

“The driving age proposals simply duplicate my own Bill to lift the minimum driving age to 16 years, and the age for obtaining a full licence to 18.5 years.

“That Bill was introduced to Parliament as a government Bill with unanimous support in October 2007 and still sits before the Transport select committee.

“The Government could proceed with the Bill now, rather than embarking on a fresh round of consultation,” he says.

He says that beginning another round of public consultation on the driving age, when it has a Bill already before a select committee upon which it could invite submissions tomorrow is simply going round in circles.

Mr Dunne says he welcomes the overall thrust of the Government’s road strategy as extremely positive, but cannot understand why it is failing to acknowledge to work already done on the driving age issue.

“If the Government was really serious about the driving age, it would have accepted my invitation months ago to accelerate my Bill, rather than simply starting the process all over again,” he says.

ENDS

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