Banning ticketless parking fines is a ‘disgraceful’ move that will put inspectors in physical danger, warns the industry union.
As the NSW government introduces legislation which stops councils from issuing ticketless fines for drivers, the United Services Union, which represents rangers, has slammed it as a backwards decision.
Graeme Kelly, general secretary of the USU, said bringing back paper fines will trigger more assaults on parking inspectors just doing their job.
READ MORE: Temperatures plunge as damaging winds sweep across country
“Every time a parking inspector is punched, spat on or abused they’ll be able to thank the NSW government for making a difficult situation even more dangerous,” Kelly said.
“We’ve had council rangers who’ve been put in comas, had their jaws broken, been spat on and abused with the most foul-mouthed tirades.”
Kelly referenced a recent case of a parking ranger in Enmore who was mowed down and left with life-altering brain and spinal injuries from a member of the public.
“Parking rangers have a tough job and like every other worker in this state they deserve to go home each day, not end up in a coma in hospital,” he added.
“Ticketless parking allows rangers to avoid dangerous situations.”
READ MORE: Thieves break into child’s room in Brisbane home invasion
The union said it had asked the government about linking council fines to car registrations so drivers can be notified of their fine in real-time via text message.
Kelly said it was wasteful for the NSW government to enforce these legislations after local councils spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ticketless parking meters.
“If the government is so concerned about same time notification of fines they need to do the same with speeding fines, and fines for not wearing a seatbelt, or using a mobile phone while driving,” he added.
“Parking inspectors have a tough job, people love to hate them, and now the state government is looking for a sugar hit to bump up its popularity and is picking on them too and putting them in danger, it’s disgraceful.”
READ MORE: Government-funded report reveals cheapest place to buy groceries
The ticketless scheme was introduced in 2020 by the former state government and allowed councils to send parking fines in the mail instead of attaching tickets to windscreens.
While it’s been a financial boon for councils, the system sparked a backlash with motorists because it can take weeks for drivers to receive a fine in the mail, meaning they are less able to gather evidence to contest the fine.
Under the new laws, council rangers will have to attach an on-the-spot notification to a vehicle, unless it is unsafe for them to do so.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, celebrity and sport via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
links to content on ABC
9News
