Driver sex-offence law may change

The Government will consider seeking an amendment to a new law that strips bus and taxi drivers convicted of even the most moderate of sex offences of their passenger licences.

From today, new provisions of the Land Transport Act mean bus and taxi drivers convicted of murder, or a sex offence punishable by more than seven years' prison, will be banned from carrying passengers.

Only a small handful have a right of appeal under the changes.

But the changes to the Act, passed last year, have had unintended consequences.

Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven today said out of about 270 drivers potentially affected by the law, about 12 had contacted him who carried old convictions for having sex with their under-16-year-old girlfriends while they too had also been young.

Their records were otherwise unblemished.

"I don't believe this law was intended to catch these people," Mr Duynhoven said.

Mr Duynhoven said he had asked Crown Law and justice and transport officials to study the issue and see if there was a solution that would allow appeals against the new provisions to be heard at a high level.

"I think in this sort of thing it's always good for the director of land transport to have some sort of discretion."

However if such appeals were completely impossible under the new set of rules, Mr Duynhoven would approach other political parties to seek support for an amendment that would allow appeals in such cases.

In the meantime the drivers would have to follow the law and cease carrying passengers until the issue was resolved.

Mr Duynhoven said there was also the possibility that the law could affect any drivers convicted of homosexual activity under laws which had since been repealed.

He had not been made aware of any actual examples of this.

Mr Duynhoven said he was expecting to meet representatives of the Taxi Federation and the Bus and Coach Association on Wednesday to discuss the issue further.

He also expected to receive further official advice on Wednesday.

He said he understood that in most of the 12 cases, the drivers' companies would keep them on in non-passenger driving roles until the issue was resolved.

United Future leader Peter Dunne has said the changes could breach the Bill of Rights Act, by effectively punishing those convicted of a crime a second time.

The Green Party said it suggested a different course when the changes were debated by Parliament last year, but it was accused by other parties of being "soft on crime".

Land Transport New Zealand has said it is powerless to do anything other than apply the law. It had been the intent of the law to remove any discretion.

Parliament does not resume until mid-February.

- NZPA