Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI (Fairfield) [10.19 a.m.]: The management by Australian National Car Parks of car parks in the Fairfield electorate is causing great concern. As a condition of entry to the Fairfield Forum car park, patrons are required to obtain and display a valid ticket on the dashboard of their vehicles at all times whilst located on the site. Ticket machines are located throughout the car park, with signage indicating free parking for the first three hours and a fee to be charged thereafter. If shoppers are in a hurry and do not pay attention to the signs, or have difficulty with the wordy English displayed on these signs, they will enter the shopping centre without reading them. The problem is that these signs state a ticket must be obtained, even if patrons only plan on being on the site for a matter of minutes and will not be exceeding the free limit.

Practically all the constituents who have approached my office feel this signage is unclear and misleading, in that it is not sufficiently clear that tickets must be obtained regardless of whether the free parking will be exceeded. The real problem is that the ticketing and payment arrangements practically invite the error to be made and the error could be avoided by the use of the traditional boom gate system that people are familiar with. If shoppers do not comply with these unique parking regulations, they are issued with payment notices for $88—curiously, this is discounted to $66 if payment is made within 14 days. Failure to take any action in response to these notices results in the issue of a Notice of Intention to Sue. The matter then progresses to enforcement action via a debt collection agency.

Most people opt to finalise payment rather than risk the commencement of legal action, which will end up costing them more. People do not know that they are well within their rights to question the issue of the payment notice in the first instance. The practice of Australian National Car Parks of forcing shoppers to obtain tickets began at the Fairfield Forum car park in 2006. Unfortunately, more recently, this operation has extended to include the Aldi car park at Fairfield. Prior to the management of these sites by Australian National Car Parks, shoppers were able to park for free and the time limit was not restricted.

Whilst it is clearly understood and appreciated that customer car parks must be monitored to ensure that the sites are only used for purposes for which they were intended, the manner in which Australian National Car Parks operates is unconscionable. Staff aggressively patrol these car parks to ensure that these facilities are used in accordance with the, often unexpected, regulations of the operator. In most cases payment notices are issued for three main offences: a valid ticket is not clearly displayed on the dashboard of a vehicle, which is the most common offence; a vehicle is parked in a designated disabled bay not displaying a current authorised disabled permit; and parking in a loading zone for an excessive period of time, or not engaged in setting down or loading goods.

Upon receiving an infringement countless constituents have approached my electorate office and the company has been extremely cooperative, often agreeing to withdraw payment notices after I have made written representations on behalf of my constituents. My concern is for those potential thousands of shoppers that have not refused to pay the infringements. It is important to note that not one of the complaints by my constituents related to a person being infringed for being in a car park in excess of three hours.

My constituents are very concerned as to how new parking arrangements, under the management of Australian National Car Parks, have seemingly popped up overnight at a second car park in Fairfield. Parking conditions changed overnight and shoppers were caught out. People who have been using the same car park for years were suddenly expected to adopt the practices of Australian National Car Parks. This has been a problem especially in my electorate because of the high proportion of people from a non-English speaking background. With many of my constituents having only a basic understanding of the English language, and therefore unable to comprehend the requirements imposed by Australian National Car Parks, it is no surprise that many shoppers are now parking in a car park that was previously unrestricted.

Many people in the community have no alternative but to use these car parks to access the shopping centres because of their age, their physical condition or because they care for small children. For these people parking in an alternative location and walking a distance to avoid the risk of receiving a fine is simply not an option. I understand these arrangements need to be put in place to ensure that these car parking spaces are properly used but, unfortunately, this has resulted in many unsuspecting customers being punished. As a consequence, I believe this is unconscionable and that Australian National Car Parks should improve its practices to ensure that shoppers are forewarned of their obligations when entering these car parks.

Ms JODI McKAY (Newcastle—Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Hunter, Minister for Science and Medical Research, and Minister for Women) [10.24 a.m.]: The New South Wales Government shares the concerns of the member for Fairfield as to unclear contract terms, and is investigating how that conduct can be remedied or addressed using the current Fair Trading laws. Nationally, unfair contract terms legislation comes into effect on 1 July, and matters such as these will be assessed to ensure that consumers are protected.

Consumers who are concerned about any payment notice they have received are encouraged to raise it with the car park operator in the first instance. However, should that prove to be unsuccessful, consumers can contact NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20 for further assistance. NSW Fair Trading is currently investigating the activities of the company to ensure that it is compliant with Fair Trading laws. More generally, NSW Fair Trading will continue to monitor the operation of all privately operated car parks to ensure that consumers are being fairly treated.