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WA Government criticised over vehicle registration sticker abolition

The Western Australian Government is under fire over its scrapping of vehicle registration stickers.


WA Magistrate Wayne Tarr said the abolition of rego stickers was “a stupid idea” and labelled it a “fundraising campaign” during his sentencing of a woman in Perth Magistrates Court yesterday who forgot to renew her registration.

"I have seen hundreds of similar situations (in WA courts) where people have forgotten about their vehicle licence fees," Mr Tarr said, as reported by The West Australian.

The Barnett Government dumped vehicle registration stickers on January 1, 2010, calling it “an innovative approach to efficiency and saving”. The government expects to save up to $2 million over four years in postage and printing.

WA Transport Minister Troy Buswell said the state had only witnessed a 0.4 per cent increase in the number of people who had failed to renew their car’s rego in 2010.

But WA Police figures show the number of people caught driving unregistered cars in the state almost doubled in 2010, up from 2680 in the previous year to 5137 last year.

Mr Buswell attributed the increased number of drivers caught in unlicensed vehicles to improved detection technology in police cars.

WA Opposition Transport spokesman Ken Travers said the government should revert back to the old system. He said the fact that unregistered cars were also uninsured cars was creating big problems in the state.

What do you think? Are vehicle registration stickers necessary or should the WA Government stick with its policy? Let us know in the comments section below.

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