Senior John Houlahan fined after forgetting to display disability permit, council won’t budget

After he forgot his disability permit, this elderly man was handed a hefty parking fine – now Onkaparinga Council is insisting he conquers a mountain of admin to waive the fee.

John Houlahan of Maslin Beach accidentally parked in a disabled spot without his disability parking permit. Picture: Kelly Barnes

An elderly man says his blasting his local council lacks simple “common sense” after staff refuse to budge in a stand-off over forgetting to display his disability parking permit.

Maslin Beach man John Houlahan, 83, said he thought the matter would be resolved swiftly after he received a $446 fine from Onkaparinga Council for not displaying his permit while parked in a disability parking spot.

He said he called the council office and was told to attend with his permit and “everything would be okay”.

But after showing staff the permit and a lengthy discussion, Mr Houlahan was told the fee could be waived only if he completed a detailed paper or online form, produced a copy of the front and back of the permit, and wrote a statement confirming he was the driver “at the time of the offence”.

John Houlahan of Maslin Beach parked in a disabled spot without his disability parking permit. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“There’s just no room for common sense,” he said. “It’s just very frustrating that they could spend so much time on something like this.

“As you get older, that sort of stuff is more difficult to deal with.”

The retired public servant said his “totally stuffed” back makes walking difficult after sitting, so he needs to park as close as he can to the shops.

He acknowledged “this isn’t a particularly big issue” but he was astonished the council staff would not loosen the rules after seeing his permit.

“It seems pretty straightforward; in this case, we’ll just withdraw the notice, because clearly it’s just a simple matter of an 83-year-old forgetting to put it up,” Mr Houlahan said.

An Onkaparinga Council spokesman said the council understands “forgetting to display a disability parking permit can happen”.

“We take a compassionate approach in these situations and our intention is always to withdraw the expiation in these circumstances,” he said.

“However, we must comply with Expiation of Offences Act, which requires a simple documented request to confirm the permit holder was present at the time and to apply the rules consistently.”

Mr Houlahan said the council’s position was galling considering its 6.8 per cent rate rise last year.

“The impression I get is they don’t care if you never get an outcome, as long as you follow the rules and the procedures – and that’s really unhealthy,” he said.

Onkaparinga Council is forecast to deliver an operating surplus in 2024-25 after seven years of deficits.

Originally published as Senior John Houlahan fined after forgetting to display disability permit, council won’t budget