Tuesday, 15 October 2019

 Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (12:13): My question today is for Minister Pulford, representing the Minister for Public Transport. I ask the minister to confirm that those people who sit on the current Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria public register are actually working in the industry and have had proper police and medical checks. The regulator has failed in its renewal systems and is only now these past few weeks starting to send out invoices for renewals, two years after the reforms. In the meantime, drivers have continued to drive and have stayed on the register, so there is potential for many of them to have lapsed in their medical and police check requirements. I believe, given the regulator’s mismanagement of its financial and accreditation obligations, that we now have a very misleading public register of drivers. I should know because I am still on it. I ask the minister: can the regulator assure the public that those who are on the public register should be?

 Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Roads, Minister for Road Safety and the TAC, Minister for Fishing and Boating) (12:14): I thank Mr Barton for his question and his great interest in this issue and this area of regulation. I will seek a response from Minister Horne for Mr Barton.

 Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (12:14): Thank you, Minister. Since the regulator has failed in its obligations to maintain the public register, it begs the question whether booking service providers are being audited to meet the licence conditions which require them to run regular police checks on drivers to ensure that there are no changes to their police status to operate as a commercial passenger vehicle driver and that there is no risk to the public. I ask the minister: has the regulator been conducting regular auditing of the booking service providers to ensure all 100 000-plus drivers are complying with their Victorian police check requirements?

 Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Roads, Minister for Road Safety and the TAC, Minister for Fishing and Boating) (12:15): I thank Mr Barton for his supplementary question. I will also seek a response from Minister Horne.