Anthony Albanese wants to cut red tape with drivers’ licence idea
The opposition leader says it “makes sense” for Australians to be able to have one national drivers’ licence, adding that it would help the economy recover from COVID-19.
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Abolishing state driver’s licences in favour of a single national system would help slice through bureaucratic red tape in the COVID-19 recovery, says Anthony Albanese.
The Labor leader said the National Cabinet had created significant opportunity to simplify and remove barriers between states on issues that “make sense” in a more mobile world, nominating driver’s licences as an obvious area for reform.
With the official demise of the slower-moving Council of Australian Governments (COAG), Mr Albanese told The Daily Telegraph premiers could now work together to slash outdated processes and boost the economy.
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“There are legitimate differences between the states but some of it is just bureaucratic. It doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
Mr Albanese said when he was transport minister in the last Labor government he had attempted to get consensus on a uniform driver’s licence system, but had been unsuccessful.
“We weren’t able to get there, (but a) national driver’s licence system makes sense,” he said.
Laws between states differ on issues such as licence requirements for drivers over the age of 75.
States like NSW have stricter requirements where elderly drivers must retest and seek medical certificates, while in Victoria this is not the case.
The cost of a normal car licence for three years also varies between jurisdictions, costing motorists $138 in NSW but only about $82 in Victoria.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said the proposal would automatically kickstart debate about “best practice” and which state’s laws should be implemented everywhere.
“We’ve seen some examples where (national standards) have been beneficial such as disabled parking rules and child restraint laws, but that’s a specific road safety program,” he said.
“You’d have to be careful we aren’t trying to create a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.”
Originally published as Anthony Albanese wants to cut red tape with drivers’ licence idea