Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

Last week the Government announced vehicle licensing reform changes.

The current system was reviewed against the Government's agenda to improve public services, find new ways of working to reduce costs, and to reduce bureaucracy and red tape. The Minister of Transport announced early on that the reform has the potential to save millions of dollars in unnecessary costs and time for households, businesses and the government – and there has been a lot of consultation feeding into the decision-making.

For the Warrant of Fitness regime there has been substantial change. While six-monthly inspections will still be required for cars registered before 2000, from July next year, annual checks will be introduced for cars registered after 2000, while new cars will not need to be inspected for three years. It is estimated this will save motorists up to $159 million a year, save time for licensing authorities, and also reduce jobs in the vehicle licensing sector.

Often there is a trade-off between regulation and the need for personal responsibility. The new system will require vehicle owners to take greater responsibility for the safety of their vehicles. For people like me, the Warrant of Fitness is a regular prompt to ensure my car is safe. Authorities will need to beef up information provision and advertising – on and off the road. However, evidence shows the effectiveness of education and advice measures increases greatly when backed up by enforcement. For this reason there will be increased enforcement of vehicle safety requirements to enhance awareness and support change.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please email me, neesj@xtra.co.nz or phone 07 579 5150. Or you can check out my website www.janenees.co.nz