Page 8 Friday, 11 September, 2015
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geelong.starcommunity.com.au
Cunningham Pier operator now unable to track down drivers
Geelong’s parking free-for-all By PAUL MILLAR CHANGES to the law have made it more difficult for Geelong payand-display car park operators to issue “unenforceable payment notices dressed-up to look like fines”. The changes have prompted a consumer action group to urge motorists to consider their options on $88 fines for running over time while parked on sites like Cunningham Pier. The new legislation prevents
private car park operators from applying for disclosure orders to locate offenders through VicRoads’ data base. Consumer Action Law Centre’s Jonathon Brown said the operators were now unable to issue demands for payment because they had lost their access to names and addresses. Motorists should now “carefully consider“ their options if given a ticket in a private car park, he said
Private operator Care Park has parks: on Cunningham Pier; in Spring St, Geelong West; Yarra St near Officeworks; and at Geelong Private Medical Centre, on the corner of Little Ryrie and Argyle Sts. Care Park’s Yolanda Torrisi said the company was considering introducing new technology. “It’s very easy to make changes to ensure that people pay. It’s a matter of changing the technology - people would be silly not to comply,” Ms Torrisi said.
Pay-and-display signs on Cunningham Pier say valid tickets must be displayed on dashboards and “failure to do so will result in issue of a payment notice for $88”. Ms Torrisi said Care Park could not call the $88 a fine because the company was not a statutory authority. The $88 was instead a payment for a breach of contract, she said. Ms Torrisi advised any motor-
ists who disputed their tickets to contact Care Park in the first instance. Recent legal decisions determined that some private car park fines were unenforceable because the damages did not reflect the operators’ actual losses. VicRoads’ Glen Madeira said only enforcement agencies such as Victoria Police and councils could now access VicRoads data through an information-protection agreement.
Car park operators previously requested the details of more than 50,000 Victorians a year to send letters of demand for payments of $80 to $100 a ticket. Consumer Affairs Minister Jane Garrett said some car park operators were issuing unenforceable payment notices dressed-up to look like fines. “For too long people have been intimidated into paying fake fines. This legislation stops this practice in its tracks,” Ms Garrett said.
Lara gets its skates on to keep up with development Popular vote on By PAUL MILLAR mayor in doubt MULTI-MILLION dollar investment is changing the face of Lara forever but councillor Tony Ansett says development will fail to kill off that “countrytown feel“. Time and new infrastructure had finally caught up with Lara, he said. “We have to ensure that we retain our identity. We have to retain that semi-rural feel and not experience the ridiculous growth that other areas are experiencing. “The town centre has caught up. We were a long way behind in infrastructure but we now have the shopping and the car parking.” Cr Ansett said a revamped Austin Park would retain its community atmosphere after a $1.8 million overhaul, with council injecting $1.3 million and State Government $500,000. “We’ve never had anything of this quality before and it creates a real sense of community in the centre of the town,” he said. A new skate park in Austin Park, designed by local youngsters, was close to completion and would be a real attraction for a booming population of youthful residents, Cr Ansett said. Coles opened a supermarket in the town last December, with Woolworths is increasing its size from 1400 to 3200 square meters to meet demand.
SKATER BOYS: Clive Allen-Paisley, Cade Leech, Bryce OKeefe, Noah Livingston and Cr Tony Ansett at Lara’s new Picture: REG RYAN skate park. 144116
From page 1 “We have always advocated for a directly elected mayor but the model we have is not the one we advocated for,” Ms Casson said. “We need to ask why it works well in Melbourne and if that could be what Geelong aspires to. We know the model we have is not working in the way we advocated for and needs to be given the best possible chance to commit Geelong to a model of similar quality to Melbourne. “Geelong, as Victoria’s second largest city, deserves a model similar to Melbourne to give it the best chance of success and to give Geelong the strategic leadership needed at this time of transformation. “Cities that invest in leadership in the right way have fared better in the economic prosperity of their city.” Former Geelong council chief Kay Rundle is a member of the review’s advisory committee. She was chief executive officer at the city from 2003 to 2009. The directly elected mayor was introduced at the 2012 municipal elections. Input into the Local Government Act review is open until 18 December at yourcouncilyourcommunity.vic.gov.au.
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