'Extremely embarrassing': Libs not keen but Greens will back seatbelt fine fix

The ACT Greens are prepared to back retrospective legislation to fix an administrative bungle that has cast legal doubt over thousands of seatbelt fines, while the Liberals raised the prospect of pushing for refunds. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Save $100 + Bonus Tote All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All other in your area Deputy Greens leader Andrew Braddock said the error was disappointing but his party was willing to work with the government to fix it in the interests of road safety. ACT Greens deputy leader Andrew Braddock. Pictures by Elesa Kurtz, Shutterstock "It is incredibly important Canberrans correctly wear a seatbelt and drive safely. The failure of the ACT government to update a legal instrument should not be an excuse to be unsafe on our roads," Mr Braddock said. The Canberra Times revealed the ACT had been forced to stop issuing fines to drivers caught on camera not wearing seatbelts after officials discovered an issue with the cameras' authorisation. Nearly 13,000 infringement notices had been issued for seatbelt offences before the Acusensus system was explicitly approved as a "seatbelt detection system", leaving the fines at risk of a successful legal challenge. While the government said there was no issue with the system's ability to detect seatbelt offences, the administrative mistake meant the earlier fines are at risk of a successful legal challenge. Opposition Leader Mark Parton said the Liberals were not minded to back the government's retrospective legislation to fix the potential legal problem. "And at this stage of the game, the Canberra Liberals are just examining all options, and those options do include refunds. There's certainly a community expectation here that the government has monumentally stuffed up," Mr Parton said. Mr Parton said his shadow cabinet had discussed a complete review of the seatbelt offence detection system because it had fallen short of community expectations, and the Liberals were open to considering a legislative fix to the authorisation issue in exchange for a system review. "Unfortunately for ACT Labor, so many members of the community are also conflating the two issues, and that is the fact that the cameras are not seemingly delivering outcomes that are acceptable to community, and the fact that this instrument wasn't signed with the right wording in the way that it should have been," he said. "And it's a disaster for them. It's extremely embarrassing, and we look forward to hearing more from government on possible ways forward." Support from the Greens will give the minority Labor government the support it needs in the Legislative Assembly to pass a legislative fix. City and Environment Directorate executive group manager Josh Rynehart on Monday said there was no question the cameras were operating appropriately and the authorisation had been fixed to allow new fines to be issued. "We will be issuing the infringements moving forward and people, at its core, people need to wear a seatbelt," he told ABC radio. More from Federal politics Be the first to know when news breaks. Your exclusive preview of David Pope's latest cartoon. Don't miss updates on news about the Public Service. Join our weekly poll for Canberra Times readers. Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarGuide, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. Get the latest property and development news here. Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Stay in the know on news that matters to you with twice weekly newsletters from The Senior. As it happens Subscriber Only Get the very best journalism from The Canberra Times by signing up to our special reports. The latest news, results & expert analysis. Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. We've selected the best reading for your weekend.