Carer issues call for fairer fining

A MAN has decided to dispute in court a parking fine he incurred while escorting an elderly woman to a doctor's appointment in the Wollongong CBD earlier this year.

The incident occurred in early March when Baden White, a personal care assistant for a well-known welfare service, took an elderly client to a doctor's appointment on Market Street.

Mr White said he could not find a parking spot in the surgery car park or on the street anywhere close enough for his client " who could walk only short distances with assistance " to be able to reach the surgery.

He said that when he couldn't find a space he knowingly parked in a No Standing area and escorted his client to the surgery.

Once inside, the elderly woman was feeling too sick to be left alone, so he had to leave his car in the illegal zone instead of going back to move it.

When he returned about 40 minutes later he discovered he had been issued a parking fine of $179.

Mr White didn't think the fine was fair given the circumstances and asked his employer if they would appeal the fine on his behalf, which they did.

The State Debt Recovery Office replied that they referred the issue to the "issuing authority", which advised that the penalty was correctly issued and should stand.

Mr White chose to have the matter heard in court and would like to see the fine taken off him or, at the very least, reduced.

He would like to see parking inspectors take extenuating circumstances into account when issuing fines, but is not disputing that he broke the law.

"I knew I was parking in a No Standing zone; I knew that, but there was nowhere else to park," he said.

"There are only two disabled parking spaces in the whole street and both of those designated spaces were occupied."

Mr White said construction work had some nearby areas cordoned off to traffic at the time, which added to the parking problem.

At the time of going to print Mr White had not received official notice of his court date from the State Debt Recovery Office.