|
|
|
||
|
|
|||
|
Harrison is close to
retirement, but the Land Transport Amendment Act 2005, which comes into force
on Monday, will prematurely end his driving career. The act specifies a
series of serious offences, led by murder and sexual crimes, that have no
recourse to appeals against licence removal. Hundreds of drivers
have received letters saying their passenger endorsement licences will be
suspended. Harrison is being
forced to cut his driving career short because of a short-term relationship
nearly 40 years ago. Now aged 62, he had all
but forgotten about his involvement with a young woman when they both worked
in a North Island shearing gang. He did not realise she
was under 16, and was fined for unlawful carnal knowledge. He joins a Dunedin bus
driver whose licence has been suspended because as a 16-year-old, 34 years
ago, he slept with his 15-year-old girlfriend, two days short of her 16th
birthday. Harrison said yesterday
that it was a shock to receive a letter from Land Transport New Zealand
saying he was to lose his licence. A Land Transport
employee told him over the phone that the court conviction could not be
fought. "I'd forgotten --
it wasn't until he said something. I thought, `Oh, my God, you know, 40 years
ago. I thought she was of legal age'," Harrison said. He has received glowing
references from passengers over the years, some of whom have followed him
from one bus company to another. Last April, a young rowing
team appreciated a week of his dedicated driving so much they acknowledged
him and his bus company in a newsletter, saying: "Beau, you're the
best." That sort of
recognition from clients was the norm rather than a one-off, said Michele
Hawke, who covers human resources for Harrison's employer, Hawarden Garage
and Transport. "He would be one
of the most highly respected drivers on the road in this country," she
said. The company's
operations manager, Michelle Yorston, said the licence loss was frustrating
for the company, given the value it placed in Harrison's work. The company would
continue to employ him in other work, which would mean a pay cut for
Harrison. She hoped public
pressure would help change the legislation. However, Land Transport
spokesman Andy Knackstedt said the legislation had taken three years to put
together, and any further change would "not happen quickly". He said Land Transport
sympathised with people like Harrison, "but we're simply administering
the law on behalf of the Government". Bus and Coach
Association deputy executive director Dave Smith said the association and the
New Zealand Taxi Federation were seeking an urgent meeting with Transport
Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven to obtain a law change to ease the position
of drivers who would have their licences cancelled because of offences
committed many years ago. Duynhoven said changes
to the Land Transport Act 1998 had been made for public safety, and
legislative changes were unanimously supported at select committee stage and
by all parties in Parliament. "I note the
concerns on behalf of Mr Harrison. "Advice is being
sought as to what processes may be available to address the particular issues
raised," he said. |
