MARK M ALDRIDGE "Community Advocate" SA - GOVERNMENT ATTACK THE INNOCENT a.userlink { color: #253741; } a.userlink:visited { color: #6a818c; } a.userlink:hover { color: #005e85; } font[size="1"] { font-size:10px; } font[size="2"] { font-size:13px; } font[size="3"] { font-size:16px; } font[size="4"] { font-size:18px; } font[size="5"] { font-size:24px; } font[size="6"] { font-size:32px; } font[size="7"] { font-size:48px; } .GuestBookMessage { font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: 13px; } .GuestBookMessageRow { font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: 12px; } .GuestBookHeader { font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: 12px; } .div-text-footer-color { color:#000000; } .div-text-footer-container a, .div-text-footer-container a:visited, .div-text-footer-container a:hover { color:#000000; } STATE GOVERNMENT ATTACKS THE INNOCENT ONCE AGAIN.It is impossible to even consider that our own state government would attack rather than reward safe driving, or condemn the innocent as a result of their own short falls, “what a bloody disgrace” says Mark Aldridge federal independent for Wakefield.When personal property can be taken from innocent parties, just to make up for short falls in government income forecasts from fine allocations, it becomes nothing more than punishment for doing the right thing.In 2011 alone; 54,000 fewer speeding fines were issued, compared with four years earlier, but rather than reward those doing the right thing, they pass bad debt and funding shortfalls onto innocent victims.As of this week, homes and vehicles of fine dodgers can be sold by the government to recoup money in some cases, even if they are not owned by the offender, by new laws passed by the states upper house.The laws allow officers of a new government fines recovery unit to sell a debtor's vehicle, home or place of residence if they owe more than $10,000.This includes properties that may be jointly owned by another person, all because their huge increase in offences that in the most attempt to entrap the innocent, have not had the financial results they expected, what kind of message is this?The governments lack lustre approach to unpaid fines resulted in $171 million in debts being written off between 2010 and 2011 alone, this fact coupled with a sharp reduction in offences, is not a problem to be imposed on innocent parties.Employers, parents, children or partners of offenders could lose their car if someone they know or employ breaks the law and is caught while driving their vehicle.Every South Australian should immediately write to their local member in disgust before the lower house votes on this issue, and I mean immediately.The new “Fines Enforcement and Recovery Office”, which will employ about 85 full-time staff, many of whom will be transferred from the Courts Administration Authority will be empowered to find the missing money. This will simply lead to increased costs to tax payers and leave our courts, which are already unable to cope with their current work load, even worse off.Having yet another government bureaucracy which will have the power to withdraw money from the bank accounts of serial fine dodgers or dock their weekly wages is one thing, but taking assets from innocent parties is an absolute disgrace, and must be opposed.Government Minister Gail Gago said "any vehicle involved in an offence that led to the debt (fine)" could be subject to the law "irrespective" of who owned the vehicle.