POLICE — COPPER
THEFT
914. Hon RICK MAZZA to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
It
has been brought to my attention that the new copper buyer's licence
requirement will cost $6 000 for three years.
(1) Can the minister confirm
whether that information is correct?
(2) If yes to (1), how was the
licence amount determined?
(3) Can the government provide the
cost recovery calculation for the licence fee; and, if not, why not?
(4) Are licence
holders entitled to a pro rata refund if their licence is cancelled within the
three-year term?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of this question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Police.
Copper theft costs the Western Australian
community millions of dollars and leaves a trail of destruction and damage. For
too long, this crime and its aftermath were ignored by the former Liberal–National
government.
(1) Licence fees
depend on the length of the licence and the number of transactions. For
example, a one-year licence allowing up to
49 transactions costs $1 057 and a three-year licence allowing over 150
transactions costs $6 048.
(2)–(3) Licence
fees are charged in accordance with the table of fees in the Pawnbrokers and
Second-hand Dealers Regulations 1996 and are subject to review by Parliament.
The cost of administering the licensing scheme is taken into account when the
fees are set, with the Western Australia Police Force advising the current fees
are generally less than 75 per cent of cost recovery.
(4) Yes, in
certain circumstances. The WA Police Force advises that regulation 30 of the
Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Regulations 1996 provides that if the
business to which a licence relates ceases to be
conducted for any reason other than because the licence has been revoked or
suspended, the licensee is entitled to be refunded the amount that is
the difference between the fee paid and the fee that would have been applicable
to the licence if it had been issued or renewed for the period ending on the
day on which the conduct of the business ceased.