Thursday, 24 March 2022

Horse-drawn vehicles

Mr BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (12:11): My question is directed to the minister representing the minister for transport in the other place. Sometime ago Melbourne City Council banned the parking of horse-drawn carriages in the CBD, forcing them to stage outside the city. There appears to be further effort to entirely remove horse-drawn carriages from the city. I have been made aware of allegations that Melbourne City Council by-laws officers have been following the carriages in the area, effectively waiting for them to make mistakes so they can be fined. It is further alleged that the minister for roads has been enlisted to help out with the removal of the carriages. My contact with the council has resulted in them telling me that all the issues are being driven by the state government and that there is a plan, apparently prepared by the state government, outlining the path forward, but I am told neither the council nor the operators have yet seen this plan. My substantive question is: will the minister or a senior adviser reach out to the carriage operators and supply them with a copy of any plan regarding them that exists and properly consult with them to ensure that procedural fairness is given?

Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Resources) (12:12): I thank Mr Bourman for his question and his interest in this issue, which is obviously a complex intersection between road safety, tourism experience and animal welfare. I think the minister you are after is Minister Carroll on this particular question, but you are absolutely spot on. This is an issue that traverses multiple areas of government responsibility, because in the inner-city areas where these carriages are most of the roads are council roads; only a very small number of them are VicRoads-managed roads. I will take that question on notice in accordance with our standing orders and seek a response from Minister Carroll for you.

Mr BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (12:14): I thank the minister for her answer. The carriage operators want to continue their business, but like all tourism-related businesses, COVID restrictions have decimated the operators, and even though we are starting to come out of the pandemic there seems to be some sort of concerted effort to finish this particular business off. My question is: in the event that regulation or legislation is enacted that further restricts the operation of the horse-drawn carriages to the point they are not able to run a viable business, will the government commit to ensuring that a fair and reasonable compensation package is given to the carriage operators?

Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Resources) (12:14): Thank you, Mr Bourman, for your supplementary question. I will seek a response to the issues that you have canvassed from Minister Carroll.