LET'S GET SERIOUS ABOUT ROAD SAFETY

Privacy Commissioner Bruce Slane is confused about the facts surrounding photographic licences, announced Minister of Transport Hon Maurice Williamson today.

"I believe Mr Slane has made a number of unsubstantiated allegations which are too absurd to let go unchallenged," said the Minister.

"Mr Slane claims that a photo licence has little to do with driver licensing. The licences will become de facto identity passes, leading to random street searches. In fact, if he is to be believed, the proposed photo licence is a thinly veiled attempt to push through state backed spying!

"Let's put some facts into the debate.

"Firstly, New Zealand and Britain are the only countries I know of that don't have a photographic driver licence, and Britain is currently introducing them over the next two years.

"New Zealand, Britain and parts of Australia are the only countries that don't require people to carry their licences when driving. Again, Britain and Australia are moving to mandatory licence carriage. No evidence has been brought to my notice of "abuse" of these policies.

"The Privacy Commissioner has not been able to quantify his concerns.

Road Safety Measure

"On average, in New Zealand, there are nearly 50,000 instances every year where an unlicensed or disqualified driver is caught driving by NZ Police. This is only the tip of the iceberg - far more get away with it because the Police's hands are tied.

"It is currently far too easy for such drivers to say that they have a licence but left it at home, or give false details. Or, hand over a borrowed licence and claim it is theirs.

"The photo licence is a road safety measure.

"What we want to do is get a licence that can actually prove you are the holder, and to give Police the means of identifying drivers at the roadside. Every other country has seen the benefits of this and has done it.

Assurances

"The aim of the proposed law is not to turn forgetful drivers into criminals but merely to effectively identify that the person behind the wheel is actually licensed to be there.

"Recent independent research shows two out of three drivers already carry their driver licence when they drive. Up to 86% would carry the proposed licence at all times.

"The Commissioner of Police, Peter Doone, assures me there will be no mass random stopping campaigns to check on whether licences are being carried.

Nonsense

"The Privacy Commissioner wants to ban the use of photo licence as identification. Presumably he will also want to ban passports, university identification cards and other forms of identification.

"He paints a dark and murky picture of Police doing random street searches, and swooping on innocent pedestrians demanding to see identification on the basis that they will be carrying their photo licence in their wallet or purse. What nonsense.

"There are laws in place to stop this sort of action. He has received no complaints about this occurring now, and no evidence that this will suddenly become an issue after the introduction of photo licences.

"The LTSA has been consulting on photo licences for several years.

"We have evaluated international experiences, produced a privacy impact report, highlighted the road safety benefits, and undertaken a number of surveys that show very strong public support for a photo licence - in fact, in excess of 80%.

Informed Debate

"I welcome an informed debate on photo licences and indeed, our consultation thus far was designed to do this.

"I am disappointed that all the Privacy Commissioner can come up with is that this is the end of the world as we know it. He has undertaken no surveys to gauge public support for his extreme views.

"I have expressed my concerns about the less than helpful approach being taken by the privacy commissioner to my colleague the Hon Doug Graham, Minister of Justice.

"It should be noted that Parliament has a further opportunity to debate these issues when the Transport and Environment Select Committee reports back from its scrutiny of the draft Land Transport Bill.

"The bottom line is that there significant road safety benefits associated with the introduction of a photo licence. I'm confident most New Zealanders welcome its introduction," Mr Williamson said.