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Wedding car lenders threatened with jail time

A Family First minister has accused the South Australian Government of threatening to fine people for lending their cars to family members and friends for use at weddings.


MP Robert Brokenshire said members of his electorate had received warning letters from the Transport Department threatening fines of $15,000 or up to four years in jail.

He said a person should be able to lend their car to a friend for a wedding without fearing penalty or prosecution.

“It's one thing to be out there catching rogues ... that are impersonating accredited hire car companies, but when a family friend lends the Subaru or the Ford Falcon to a friend for a wedding and they receive a demanding prosecution letter, it's absolutely outrageous," Mr Brokenshire told the ABC.

"Are the Government so tight with financial management at the moment that they're hitting innocent people with significant fines?”

But Transport Department manager for passenger transport, Bill Gonis, said the SA Government was not threatening people unreasonably, it was merely interested in safety.

"If they're simply just providing that service for a friend of theirs, that's fine, that's the end of that,” Mr Gonis said. “We're not prosecuting people who are simply driving their friends around.

"This is just really about ensuring public safety, [ensuring] that some of these vehicles are roadworthy.”

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