$36m plan to collar $90m in owed fines

By PAULA OLIVER

Fine evaders will be chased by a beefed-up collection system using wheel clamping, data-matching and possibly airport monitoring as part of a Government plan to retrieve $90 million in unpaid fines.

Courts Minister Matt Robson said yesterday that $36 million extra would be given to the Fines Collection Call Centre over the next four years. It was hoped the extra spending would yield $90 million in collections - or $2.50 for every $1 spent.

Evasion of the collection system has long been a problem and the outstanding bill totals hundreds of millions of dollars.

Some of the worst offenders - last year one owed $1.8 million - have left the country to avoid paying.

The most costly offences often occur under the Fisheries Act and Customs Act.

Mr Robson's office confirmed that he had asked for a report on preventing people leaving the country if they owed large fines.

The law already allows for people owing large sums to have property seized and sold, and car wheels clamped. Houses also can be sold.

Under the spending outlined yesterday, the fine collection call centre will be boosted from 53 staff to 180, and an office opened in Auckland.

The centre will use data-matching with other Government departments to track the addresses and telephone numbers of people who owe money. The departments are Work and Income, the Department of Corrections and Inland Revenue.

Mr Robson said if people were found, their owed fines were usually recovered.

A fund for victim reparation also is being looked at.

Of the extra $90 million the fine centre hopes to capture, $22 million is for victim reparation.

Act MP Muriel Newman said the extra spending on chasing fines showed the Government was tight on money at budget time.

Victim Support chief executive Steve Caldwell said talk of a fund was heartening but, until it was set up, victims would still suffer.

Outstanding victim reparation had totalled $38 million at the end of last year.