Mike Baird | Member for Manly - Motorists Slugged With Further Spikes in Green Slips

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Motorists Slugged With Further Spikes in Green Slips

Wednesday, 06 August 2008

The cost of running a car has skyrocketed even further with motorists facing increases of up to 80 percent in the cost of their Green Slips due to poor management by the Iemma Government, Shadow Minister for Finance Mike Baird said today.

"This is the Iemma Government trifecta for working families – water rates are up, electricity prices are escalating, and it now costs more to drive because the Iemma Government has dropped the ball on Green Slips,” Mr Baird said.

“Not only is the medical care and injury services (MCIS) levy on Green Slips costing motorists substantially more than the Premier’s promise of $20*, but insurance companies are also getting away with charging more younger drivers for being high risk.

“We’ve seen no statistics to support any claims that drivers aged between 25 and 30 are now a higher risk, therefore it’s up to the government to demand from the insurance companies why they’ve hiked up prices. However, with John Della Bosca out of action there’s no full-time Minister responsible.

“While the full-time Minister’s away, the insurance companies have come out to play,” Mr Baird said.

“The government has confirmed motorists are paying more for their Green Slips and they’ve done nothing to shield families from further spikes.

"Not only are services and infrastructure crumbling, the Iemma Government's mismanagement is now hitting our back pockets. It’s highway robbery.

"When we raised the high cost of the MCIS levy back in March the government tried to argue it wasn't an issue because the overall cost of Green Slips had only marginally increased. Clearly this isn't the case.

"We understand the need for the MCIS levy on Green Slips, however the Premier said it would cost $20 and now we see the average cost is in fact more than $85**.

"Families are struggling to pay for petrol as it is and many have no choice but to drive because the public transport system is so inadequate. This is the last thing commuters need."

MEDIA: Lisa Harrington - 0406 726 880

* Launch of Lifetime Care and Support Scheme at Children’s Hospital, Randwick – 9 March 2006

** Mike Baird Question with Notice (2775) to Minister Assisting the Minister for Finance, answered 16 May 08

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Comments (3)

Motorists can't have their cake and eat it. Access to roads from private transport is a privelige, not a right.
What I mean by this is the following:
My neighbour drives his nice shiny pathfinder on the road with only himself in it. I am a passenger with 70 other people in a bus. The destruction I cause to the road and environment is mitigated by the bus, and exacerbated by the pathfinder - yet the rates I pay are equivalent to the pathfinder driver. Essentially, I am paying far, far more for my use of the road than is the pathfinder driver.
Is it his right to cause more personal destruction than I?
Access to roads is a right that we pay for, but access to roads from public transport is a privelige - ift motorists use the road for private trasport, then they should pay for it. I use the road for public transport (and of course, to transport societal infrastructrure), so why should I pay for motorists private access?
I support the rising costs of private-car use, to an extent. But they need to be offset by improved access to improved and lower-cost public transport.

I feel no sympathy to the enormous nissan pathfinder that is driving down military road, with one exasperated parent and one or two school kids that should be taking the bus, along with everyone else.

If you're going to drive your car, then you shouldn't complain about paying for it. - There ARE alternatives!

Posted by: E Muller at 07-08-2008 11:22

Road related fees and taxes

Mike raises a point that is rarely metioned - young people are already struggling with green slip prices - particularly as we're paying more then any other age group, yet our age group is making less money, and as a result young people are having to run up credit card debt to pay ever increasing insurance bills and taxes that only seem to go up.

Motorists are paying many billions of dollars in road related taxes, and only a fraction of this is being reinvested in infrastructure, and every new road seems to have a toll on it.

Motorists - especially young motorists have paid and continue to pay more than our fair share of fees and taxes. Iemma needs to cease dithering and step up and take action. The last thing we need is just another study or inquriy.

Posted by: Warren Hudson at 07-08-2008 12:57

Green slip spikes

Sounds like Iemma is finally doing at least one thing right.
The sooner motor vehicles are priced out of existence the better off we'll all be.
Motor vehicles are a burden on our society and our planet.
Cars kill people, they pollute the air and contribute to climate change.
Imported oil and vehicles contribute to the national current account deficit.
Drivers demand expensive motorways and tunnels yet
complain about the price of petrol and green slips.
Motor vehicles are a burden on our health system, encouraging sedentary lifestyles as well as creating road trauma.
Every new car adds to the congestion on our roads.
The sooner we get over our addiction to private motor vehicles the sooner we will actually progress as a society.

Posted by: Michael M at 07-08-2008 21:45