KEY POINTS:
Prime Minister Helen Clark says compulsory third-party insurance for all drivers is a good idea.
The Government will decide before the election whether to introduce compulsory third-party insurance in a bid to crackdown on boyracers.
It announced last year it was putting together a discussion paper to gauge public opinion on the issue.
Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven yesterday said that paper would be out in the next few weeks.
The consultation would be completed in time to allow Cabinet to make a decision before the election.
Helen Clark today said the idea was a good one, but it needed to be tested against the public's views.
"I'm personally inclined to think that idea has a lot of merit, but it's got to be properly explored," she said on NewstalkZB.
Insurance companies have criticised the proposal, saying it would be hard to enforce as the worst drivers had already been refused insurance and many drove without a license.
But Mr Duynhoven yesterday said he had been getting extremely positive feedback over the idea.
"I've had just a large number of people phoning in, writing in, just bowling up to me in the street," he told NZPA.
"These are people I've never seen or met before coming up to me and saying 'we've got to do that'.
"So it's got very good feedback. But we want to get people's ideas formally, of course.
New Zealand was one of the only developed countries not to have such legislation and he was confident of convincing his Cabinet colleagues of its merits, he said.
The cost of uninsured motorists was between $53 million and $85m a year.
Under a compulsory scheme, young, novice and accident prone drivers paid higher premiums.
Steeper premiums on higher performance vehicles could encourage drivers to opt for less powerful vehicles, Mr Duynhoven said.
He expected the discussion document to be out in the "next few weeks".
- NZPA
