L-plate backlog needs to be cleared says Tesch

Thousands of young locals itching to get their L-Plates and Provisional licenses have had their future put on hold after Service NSW scrambled to deal with a backlog of cancelled tests tracing back to June, according to a local MP.

Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch, said she had heard reports of students booking in for their tests in Newcastle only for those tests to be cancelled once Central Coast was classified as part of Greater Sydney for regional travel purposes.

Michelle Mitchell, a mother of a 16-year-old who had been trying to get his Learners Permit since his birthday in August, said the delay is putting a whole community at a disadvantage.

“It’s just ridiculous, you know there’s a whole community out there who are in the same situation, so many of my son’s friends have just turned 16 and have been forced to wait,” Mitchell said.

“It is putting so many of our kids, who have already been through enough this year, at a disadvantage.

“We were told the backlog would not be cleared until January, that’s a huge and unacceptable delay.”

Tesch said young people on the Coast will be disadvantaged.

“We unfortunately do not have a seamless transport network like in Sydney, with less bus and train services and lengthy routes to cover,” Tesch said.

“Many of our students hope to complete a trade and for many a driver’s licence is their ticket to success.

“While not having a Learners Permit for a few months does not sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things, when you add the fact that one must hold a Learners Permit for 12-months prior to applying for a Provisional Driver Licence test this is going to have a huge impact on 16, going on 17-year-olds who will be unable to get the trades and jobs they want because of a huge backlog.”

Tesch said the backlog needed to be cleared sooner rather than later.

“Even if it means making it available for people to do their Learners’ Permit test online or hosting mass testing days so we can fast track this, something needs to be done to get rid of the backlog so our youth are not delayed any more in their crucial development and success,” she said.

“It’s the 21st century and it is about time the NSW Liberal Government start adopting a more innovative approach, so Coasties aren’t let down anymore.”

Tesch said she has written to the Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello, to ensure the community’s concerns are communicated.

Reports suggest that individuals who had a booking during lockdown will be prioritised, with those who did not have a booking during that period unable to make one yet.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said once the backlog had been cleared, Service NSW will reopen driving tests to the wider community.

“I want to thank the Central Coast community for their resilience and patience during the lockdown,” Crouch said.

“Unfortunately, the Public Health Orders meant that driving tests had to be significantly scaled back, creating a backlog of approximately 17,000 throughout Regional NSW.

“Now that the lockdown has ended, Service NSW is actively working towards clearing this back log, including hiring additional staff in regions of need.”

Source:
Media release, Oct 20
Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch