Simmonds PennyHon PENNY SIMMONDS (Minister for Disability Issues): Thank you Mr Speaker. Mobility parking is important to the New Zealanders who rely on it for access to everyday facilities and services like grocery shopping and visiting the doctor. When mobility parking is misused the lives of those New Zealanders are considerably disrupted. In a recent survey lack of access to suitable car-parking was the most common reason respondents gave for not being able to take trips away from home for day-to-day activities.We welcome the petition by Claire Dale to make mobility parking enforceable on public property and to increase penalties. And we thank the Petitions Committee and those who made submissions to the committee and we welcome the committee's final report on this topic. Inconsistent enforcement reduces the likelihood that people will actually follow the rules and may lead some people to believe that they can park in these spaces. We know this misuse of mobility parking spaces was reported repeatedly in the submissions that came to the Petitions Committee.We also acknowledge many of the challenges and concerns that were raised by businesses and enforcement authorities in relation to the enforcement of mobility parking law. They raised that they have limited staff availability for enforcement and that they have concerns for the welfare of their staff from aggressive drivers. For the recommendations that were included in the final report from the Petitions Committee the Government has now had an opportunity to review them and consider what actions we should take. We agree with many of the submissions that the use of new technology could be a vital tool to improve enforcement. Cameras are increasingly providing an affordable option for monitoring mobility parking spots while also being able to document the offences and keep staff safe.I will now outline these recommendations and the Government's response to them. The first recommendation was to significantly increase and index to inflation the fine for illegal parking in mobility parking spaces. The Government agrees that the cost of mobility parking fines is insufficient with the fees not having been updated since 2008 and this is part of a broader issue with outdated fees that we're seeking to address. The Minister of Transport has directed the Ministry of Transport to undertake a full review of parking fees and this will include consideration of a mechanism for regularly reviewing the fees so that we don't get that outdated situation again.The second recommendation was to review current mobility parking requirements and research future needs to ensure that an appropriate number of mobility parks are available. It is important that there are sufficient mobility parks to meet current and future demands. Mobility parking requirements are reviewed periodically by local government and this is often based on the NZ Standard Design for access and mobility" which is developed by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. This standard provides good guidance to those reviewing mobility parking requirements and the Government doesn't see the need for a fundamental review of approach at this time.The third recommendation is to consider support for road controlling authorities to develop technology for enforcing mobility parking. The Government agrees with the committee that technology is a key tool for greater and safer enforcement and we are exploring general options for new enforcement technologies particularly automation of infringement offences. Specifically for this issue we are encouraged to read one example in the Petitions Committee's report from Queenstown Lakes District Council. The council uses cameras to monitor mobility parks bus stops and taxi stands and the cameras are on at all times. Given the concerns about coverage and staff safety we encourage local councils to explore and develop these. There will be further work needing to be done with Local Government New Zealand to support road controlling authorities to increase uptake of enforcement technologies."