Inner West Council resisting offer to slash 52 parking fines

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has slammed Inner West Council for its resistance to slash parking fines.

Darling St in Balmain is the highet earning street for parking machine revenue in the Inner West LGA.

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NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has slammed Inner West Council for its reluctance to slash parking fines.

The State Government has made regulatory changes allowing for 52 parking offences to be lowered from $112 to $80.

On Tuesday the council deferred the matter so it could be considered as part of the budget process and for advice to be provided on how council can better deal with people facing hardship who have been stung with fines.

Staff have recommended against the move as it would blow a $2.54 million hole in the council’s budget.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has taken aim at the council over its reluctance to reduce parking fines.

Mr Perrottet told the Courier that Liverpool, Blacktown and Fairfield councils had all “opted in” to reduce fine amounts while Inner West Council was “treating ratepayers as ATMs”.

Three Sydney based universities; UTS, Western Sydney University and Macquarie University have also opted in.

“Fines should be used as deterrent, not as a honey pot for lazy councils and authorities,” Mr Perrottet said.

“It’s no surprise a Labor mayor thinks he owns ratepayer money and can treat them as cash cows.

“Clearly Mayor Darcy Byrne doesn’t care if his ratepayers are paying parking fines as high as those in New York and London.”

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne. Picture: AAP IMAGE/Jordan Shields

Cr Byrne said the council had helped local businesses in Rozelle and Balmain by switching off meters at 7pm on Norton and Darling Sts.

“As the only mayor and council in NSW to have turned parking meters off at night and to have delivered 30 minutes free parking on main streets I am disappointed the treasurer continues to refuse to match this with state government parking meters,” he said.

“Why should visitors to the Botanic Gardens and Centennial Park have to put up with Mr Perrottet hand in their pocket when they stop for a coffee?”

NSW Treasury had not received any email correspondence from the council about extending free evening parking to meters controlled by the State Government.

The council is second only to the City of Sydney with the amount of parking fines it issued and the revenue it collected from parking offences; a whopping $12.3 million from 88,860 fines — an average of 243 a day — in 2017-2018.

Chris Lamb's Ford Ranger which was stolen from his unit complex. The parking fine that was issued after being abandoned in the city.

Darling St in Balmain was outed as the highest earning street for parking meter fines in the LGA with $365,476 worth of infringements dished out in that year.

Roberto Abbonizio was furious to receive a parking fine after parking illegally for 20 minutes on Zoeller Rd, Concord because the council had reduced the amount of spots by installing planter boxes.

Roberto Abbonizio says the council uses parking fines to raise revenue rather than trying to improve the parking situation.

“I had clearly parked illegally but I had to get my two-year-old daughter to her grandma in the rain and there was nowhere else to park,” he said.

“Does the council want to help the community and make things better or just continue revenue raising?

“I got the ticket in the mail so they’re not even addressing the issue, they hide behind a treet taking photos and police the issue through stealth which doesn’t solve anything.

“The fines should be about making sure people don’t stay three hours in a 15 minute spot and helping local businesses, preschools and ratepayers.

“They forget who their boss is.”

Councils who chose to lower fines by January 1 could start reducing them from this month but there are more opt-in opportunities in April and July this year and October and April next year.

Motorists can also have their say on a review to make fines fairer: nswfinesreview.com.au.