The Auditor General has revealed the Rees Labor Government wrote off $62.4 million in fines last year after failing to collect most of these fines for more than seven years, Shadow Treasurer Mike Baird said today.
“Tens of millions of dollars are being lost because of a lack of financial discipline from a broken Rees Labor Government,” Mr Baird said.
“With the State Budget almost a billion dollars in deficit, you would think Eric Roozendaal would insist on discipline and rigour across government.
“Instead Eric Roozendaal has forfeited more than $60 million in revenue owed to the taxpayers.”
The Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament 2009 Volume Five has found that during 2008-09, the State Debt Recovery Office identified and wrote off 305,770 fines valued at $62.4 million*.
“That’s tens of millions of dollars that should have been invested into front-line services and into building a long list of promised infrastructure,” Mr Baird said.
“Not only did the Rees Labor Government fail to collect more than 300,000 fines last year – most of these fines were overdue for more than seven years.
“This incompetence would not be found in any other organisation or business, yet it is commonplace in the Rees Labor Government.”
In 2007-08 the NSW Government failed to collect $56.5 million in uncollected fines, rising by $5.6 million in the last financial year.
“As the NSW economy slid into recession and families across the State tightened their belts, the Rees Labor Government’s financial discipline deteriorated even further.
“If Nathan Rees and Eric Roozendaal insisted on rigour and discipline across their government, there’s no doubt NSW taxpayers would be tens of millions of dollars better off,” Mr Baird said.
MEDIA: Lisa Harrington - 0406 726 880
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Comments (9)
Uncollec ted fines
Let's get this straight ... over two financial years 2007/08 and 2008/09 the state governmment has failed to collect nearly $120 million dollars worth of fines. ($118.9 million to be precise!) Does this mean that they don't have a sytem in place to actually collect the money, or are the fines being incorrectly (or illegally) levied in the first place. Let's face it the figure is frightening and begs the question how many other state charges are written off ... ambulance accounts, hospital bills, and the like. What are the accounting standards here?
John Cowper - Balgowlah
Uncollected fines
Dear Mike, Just another act by an incompetent NSW Government. I hope you are listing all these facts to present them just before the next election! Kind regards, Malcolm.
Various Fines written off?
It would be interesting to hear the full story - What were the fines they failed to collect? - and why was it not possible to collect them? Clearly, fines now are wide ranging and in many cases are for substantial amounts. Is the Government imposing fines that cannot be met by large segments of the population? Are groups of people so transient now that they cannot be traced? The answers to these questions may say a lot more about the financial health and level of compliance of people within the State. Cheers
Wayne Moynham
Fines
You don't mention the type of fines. From recollection, the people who incur fines are skewed towards those who can not pay. This bottom $5.6 million-odd each year mostly comprise people who are more likely to be itinerant (and thus expensive to locate), with poor legal understanding, little in the way of financial resources, and less respect for the laws than the majority. To make those who CAN pay but who thumb their noses to be held accountable, we should consider non-financial penalties. For example, for repeat traffic offences (in particular those that endanger lives), car confiscation. The excuse of needing a car to get to work should be balanced against the safety of others. For those who commit traffic offences in someone else's car, the penalty should still apply. Anyone loaning a car to another driver is responsible for that choice. For offences in a stolen car, criminal penalties would supersede the mere matter of fines.
response
Hi Alicia and Wayne, thanks for your comments. The fines included parking fines and train and traffic infringements. Re the amount not collected each year, it is $62.4million uncollected last year, not $5.6 million! Please check out the link to the report if you are interested in more detail. Cheers, Lisa from Mike's office
Fines
Oops - sorry for not reading the amount in detail. Nevertheless, my other comments still stand.
For those who do not think they will ever pay fines, there is little incentive to go to the effort to avoid infringing again and again. So such people collect a disproportionate quantity of fines.
There are many reasons for repeat offences - conveniently disagreeing with the rules is a big one - but of course we should respect the law even if we don't agree with it, because the alternative is anarchy. It is hardly difficult to only comply with the laws we agree with.
This is the nub of the issue. We should avoid making unenforceable laws. Teaching in primary school what "rule of law" means and implies should be complemented by well-considered laws, rather than lawmaking by reflex, as happens so often now.
Ideally, it should not be a matter of collecting all the fines, but having few fines to collect.
FINE MONEY
I was appalled to read that the Government has waived outstanding moneys for parking fines, I must remember never to pay any I get in the future. I have just returned from the 3rd world and their hospitals are better looking than both Manly and MOna Vale and the 3rd world have a MATERNITY UNIT
Sewage Plant at John Fisher Park or near
Dear Mr. Baird,
I understanfd on the 11th you are attending a conference re the above subject. The plans have not been advertised to the neighbourhood or not many to consider this proposal. The obvious thing is the smell the sight of it and what most people fear devaluation of their property. The Water Board may have a good proposal and many ingenious technology is now in place but I feel we should have the full information on this subject. The old one in Ipswich England I rekekber well and it still stinks but the smell goes to a housing estate so nobody worries about thejm. On a bad day you just shut the windows. Do they intend to make methane gas or use it for some side product useful at all. The overflow of the one in England produced some wonderful Tomato Plants. We could have our little Peninsula Horticlture Site - worth thinking about.
Uncollected Fines.
I wonder if these fines were for big business or just the normal mum and dad. For such a large amount, my guess is that Big business has benefited once again from this Labour Government.
