Mobile cameras: speeding fine revenue in half of NSW falls to zero

Speeding fine revenue in half of NSW has fallen to zero with a botched mobile speed camera rollout leading to some lucky drivers getting off “scot-free”.

A botched rollout of the mobile speed cameras has resulted in motorists in half of the state failing to be fined.

While motorists in the north of Sydney and the state were stung with record mobile speed camera fines in July, those in many areas south of Sydney and in the south of NSW did not receive a single fine.

The anomaly has been blamed on a new contractor having issues with staffing due to Covid, with a NSW Transport official telling a transport hearing how just three cars were operating at the start of the contract.

The mobile speed camera program is being rolled out by two different contractors – Redflex in the north of the state and Acusensus – a company that last year enlisted former deputy premier Troy Grant as a strategic adviser – taking care of the south.

Speeding fine revenue in half of NSW has fallen to zero.

State Opposition Roads spokesman John Graham who raised the issue at the roads and transport Budget Estimates hearing on Friday said the “catastrophic failure” of the rollout had meant some speeding motorists were getting off “scott free”.

“There is no mobile speed camera enforcement occurring across half the state,” he said.

“Depending on where you live in NSW you will either see record numbers of covert cameras or get off scott free for speeding.

“This is a red light for speeding in the state’s north, and a green light in the south.”

Speeding and red light camera data for the month of July show there were no fines issues in Wagga Wagga, down from 584 issued in April.

In Queanbeyan, there were 290 fines issued in April but none in July.

It was the same in the electorate of Bega held by Transport Minister Andrew Constance, where there had been 115 fines issued in April only for none to be issued in July.

In Riverwood in Sydney, there were also none issued in July after 171 in April.

Over in Norwest, also in Sydney, mobile speed camera fines plunged from 577 in April to zero in July.

Acusensus, which won the contract to roll out technology that photographs drivers illegally using mobile phones, was awarded a $77 million three-year mobile speed camera contract earlier this year with the contract understood to have commenced at the end of May.

Asked by Mr Graham about the absence of fines in half of the state, neither Centre for Road Safety Executive Director Bernard Carlon nor Transport for NSW secretary Rob Sharp appeared at first to have an explanation.

Some speeding motorists were clearly getting off “scott free”, say the Opposition.

Mr Carlon told the hearing that the “anywhere, anytime” mobile speed camera program was being “introduced gradually”, with camera hours of operation rising from 7000 hours per month to 21,000.

“Its part of the normal process of rotating enforcement across the whole of the network,” he said.

Mr Carlon later blamed Covid for staffing issues for the discrepancy, while revealing how Acusensus had started with just three cars, but had now procured 14.

Mr Sharp said the department would “explore the data”.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said it was absolutely critical the discrepancy was explained if the program was to be supported by the community.

“The road toll is nowhere near where we need it to be, despite the extent of the lockdown, and if half the state has no enforcement program, that is obviously very worrying,” he said.

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Originally published as Mobile cameras: speeding fine revenue in half of NSW falls to zero