Everyone has the right to go about their business safely. Today, the Territory Labor Government has passed the Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2021.
Today the Territory Labor Government has made important amendments that will make our road, bus and rail networks and our waterways safer for all Territorians. This includes strengthening legislation to allow Transit Safety Officers to ban people from entering buses and bus stations when they have behaved in an offensive, threatening, violent or disorderly manner.
Our public bus networks Transit Safety Officers will now have more powers. Transit Officers can now ban people from entering onto buses and bus stations, when they have behaved in an offensive, threatening, violent or disorderly manner or they have damaged property. Other amendments include:
giving Transit Officers the power to deal with a person who assaults someone or damages property within the bus network or a bus station, when the offender is outside a bus station; andmaking an assault on a Transit Officer an arrestable offence.
Two new offences have also been introduced into the Traffic Act to strengthen penalties for those driving recklessly and endangering lives. They are:
driving a vehicle carelessly where that conduct causes the death of any person, with a maximum penalty of 60 penalty units ($9480) or two years imprisonment; anddriving a vehicle carelessly where that conduct causes serious harm to any person, with a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units ($6320) or 18 months imprisonment.
Quotes attributed to the Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, Eva Lawler:
“Travelling on any Territory bus networks, roads, or rail should be safe. Today we have made strong amendments to our Transport Legislation which will assist in making the way we go about everyday life safer.
“These important amendments introduce several new measures that increase Transit Officer’s powers to deal with bad behaviour on our buses.
“This passed Bill will help our legal system to better meet expectations of community justice where careless driving has resulted in death or serious harm; improve road safety for both road users and road workers; reduce anti-social behaviour on buses and in the vicinity of bus stations; and enhance enforcement across our road, bus and rail networks and our waterways.”
Northern Territory Government
