Georgina te Heuheu

Wellington, May 19 NZPA - Legislation which will allow driver licences to be suspended when people haven't made arrangements to pay overdue traffic fines passed its first reading in Parliament today.

The Courts and Criminal Matters Bill creates the new enforcement measure of driver licence stop orders (DLSOs) which can be issued against fine defaulters.

Warning letters will go out to those with overdue fines, telling them they have 14 days to make payment arrangements or a DLSO will be issued against them.

Licences will remain suspended until the overdue fines are resolved through payment or time-to-pay arrangements.

The bill, which passed its first reading on a vote of 113-9, has been sent to the law and order select committee for public submissions. Only the Green Party opposed it.

It contains other measures, including allowing home detention or prison sentences to be substituted for unaffordable and unenforceable reparation orders, and allowing the Ministry of Justice to release overdue penalty amounts to credit reporting agencies.

"It is critical to the credibility of the justice system that monetary penalties are viewed as a credible sanction," Courts Minister Georgina te Heuheu said when she introduced the bill last month.

"This bill represents the most comprehensive set of legislative measures designed to strengthen the recovery of unpaid monies in 12 years."