I hope 2022 is off to great start for you, wherever you find yourself. It’s certainly been a well-deserved break for many. For those of you who have continued to provide essential services through the holiday break, I personally thank you for your service – we just couldn’t be without you.
As your local MP, I want to highlight the importance of thorough policy making that ensures government legislation does not lead to unintended consequences for those living in our area.
Unfortunately, the recent traffic-light legislation was dashed through parliament at lightning speed late last year. And so it’s proving a prime example of law-making that ha
s caused more confusion than clarity, in some areas at least, and created as many problems as solutions.
In another example, my electorate office and I have recently been contacted by numerous constituents about the Automobile Association requiring that anyone who sits their practical driver licence test must be double vaccinated against Covid-19. To be clear: negative Covid-19 tests are not being accepted.
The unintended consequence of this could well be that unvaccinated teenagers end up driving on our roads without the appropriate licence, which of course only creates more risk for other road users.
One alternative approach could be that if it’s good enough for unvaccinated individuals to board a flight with a negative Covid-19 test, then it’s good enough for our young people to sit their driver licence test that way, perhaps while wearing a mask. That’s got to be better having unlicensed youngsters risking their own lives and others’ on our roads.
As this example of unintended consequences from sketchy policy development shows, we simply cannot afford to rush our democratic law-making processes this year as we saw all too often in 2021.
I’m really looking forward to being back in Parliament soon to represent my favourite electorate, as your local MP, getting stuck into challenging the government on key issues. Until then, I will continue to be out and about in the electorate of course.
Please feel free to say hi and let me know your hopes and dreams for this year!
Cheers, Chris
