Transport Minister Rita Saffioti has heeded the calls of the community and the Opposition for improved access to practical driving assessments, following the WA Labor Government’s belated notice they would re-open a driver assessment centre in Joondalup after closing it only three months ago.
Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Transport Minister Shane Love said WA Labor’s announcement comes five long months after he used a ‘Grievance’ in Parliament to call on the Government to improve processes for L-platers to access practical tests.
“Moving at a glacial pace, WA Labor have finally listened to the Opposition and earmarked their intention to re-open a dedicated driver assessment centre their Government closed in May,” Mr Love said.
“Straight out of the Labor playbook, the WA Government have now backflipped on the unwarranted closing the Joondalup driving site only after Labor MPs turned on the Minister, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars during a cost-of-living crisis.
“Today’s ‘to-do-list’ announcement from WA Labor signalling they would finally listen to the Opposition is like a trailer for a movie that never gets released, with drivers to wait months for the doors of the centre to finally open,” Mr Love said.
Mr Love said today’s announcement does nothing to prevent Perth parents having to pay more to drive their children to regional towns to access practical driving assessments, clogging local centres for regional L-plate drivers.
“The Government’s additional announcement they would improve the security of the booking system by implementing two-factor authentication is also as hollow as it is unhelpful to the thousands of learner drivers who have been unable to book tests for months,” Mr Love said.
“The Minister has dragged her feet on this issue and until a site opened and the site is secure, West Australians will continue to be forced to travel hours to regional testing centres,” Mr Love said.
“The Opposition will continue to lift Labor’s handbrake to ensure today’s ‘to-do list’ announcement is rolled out as quickly as possible, allowing drivers get their licence and hit the road sooner.”
