FIBS NEWS DIRECT: WEDNESDAY, 16 APRIL 2002
LETTER TO BE SENT TO ARGENTINE AIRLINE COMPANY:
On the 2nd of April, Aerolineas Argentinas applied to the Civil Aviation Authority for a permit to run a twice weekly flight between Argentina and the Falklands. I asked Chair of the General Purposes Committee, Cllr. John Birmingham (JB) for the latest developments.
JB: The Falkland Islands Council have seen sight of a letter that is going to be sent to the Argentines after Easter. Until that letter is signed off and sent to the Argentines, it won’t be made public. But I don’t think people should be in any doubt as to what that letter says. And, I don’t think it will upset anybody here.
CG: So, does this look like it’s going to be the end of the matter?
JB: Every now and again some organisation in the Argentine gets a lot of publicity out of making certain statements And, we’ve seen this time and time again. This is no different and I am sure it will occur in the future.
CG: The South American Press reports that Carlos Menem, who is standing for the presidency, says that if re-elected, he’s hoping to visit the Islands in early June. What sort of reception do you think he would get from a Councillor’s point of view?
JB: It would be interesting, wouldn’t it. If Mr. Menem was re-elected then as to whether he would visit the Islands or not, we would have to wait and see. But any Argentine can visit the Islands, as we know. And, of course, they get their passports stamped. And, that in itself would be interesting but I can’t really see that happening.
ORGANISATION FOR HM THE QUEEN’T BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS:
A parade to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday is happening on Monday starting at 1030. The Parade will take the usual lines and will be followed by a march-past at which the Governor will take the Royal Salute. Contingents of the Royal Navy, the Army, RAF, FIDF and members of Youth Organisations will also be taking part, as will representatives of Legislative Council and FIG. There will also be a fly-past at 1045. Government officials say this important occasion gives the public a chance to demonstrate their loyalty ot the Crown and pay their respects to the Queen, who will be symbolised by the flying of the Royal Standard during part of the ceremony. People watching the parade need to be in place on Victory Green by 1015. And, if it’s raining, the parade will be held in the Town Hall.
TAXI DRIVER SENT TO JAIL FOR DRINK DRIVING:
This morning in Court, Tony Alazia was sentenced to 3 months in prison for drink driving. Lee Hazell was there.
LH: On the evening of the 24th of March, the Police received a phone call to say that Mr. Alazia had been seen drinking cider whilst driving a Taxi and swerving in the road. The Police saw him pull up on the yellow lines outside Deanos and beep the horn. They stopped and asked him to move off the yellow lines, which was when they noticed the small of alcohol on his breath. He also had two passengers in the taxi. The first attempt on the roadside breath-a-liser failed and the second proved positive. A later reading gave a lower reading of 121, over three and a half times the legal limit. In defence, Hugh Ferguson told the Court that his client was not in the habit of drinking and driving but the day before had been on a fairly heavy drinking session to celebrate his sister’s birthday. He wasn’t due to work the next day but was woken up at 1000 and asked to work. He said he was aware that he had been drinking, so had agreed to go in later in the day. Senior Magistrate, Nick Saunders, told the defendant that this was a serious matter that he felt could only be dealt with by way of a custodial sentence, saying that when alcohol readings are over 100 the sentence lands fairly and squarely into the custodial option. He said that matters were made worse by driving a taxi, which people are asked to use as a safe alternative to driving home from the pub, which, in this case, they clearly not safe. As well as sentencing him to 3 months inside, Mr. Alazia was also disqualified from driving for three years. No order was made for costs.
ANNUAL POLICE REPORT:
The annual Police Report was made public last month. Chief of Police, Dave Morris (DM), says there are a number of traffic related issues that the force is focusing on at the moment.
DM: When I was doing the annual report, I noticed that there had been a large increase in traffic offences in 2002. Some of these offences have been committed by people who were driving without insurance and some of them had been driving without insurance while they had been borrowing vehicles from people.
People who borrow vehicles must ensure that they are covered by a valid policy of insurance before they drive. There are different policies that say you have to be over 21. Anyone over 21 can drive a vehicle. On other policies, you have to be named on that policy. And, sometimes, you can drive another person’s vehicle on your own insurance policy.
But the onus is on the person to check that they are covered to drive before they do so. The same applies to a person who loans a vehicle out to anybody. They must also ensure the person they loan the vehicle to is either covered by their own insurance policy or theirs. If there is any doubt whatsoever, simply check with the insurance company and they will clarify the issue. It’s very important because if they fail to do that then both people could end up in trouble and both people could end up in court and that’s the last thing that we want.
The next thing I’d like to cover is when you register a vehicle, or you tax a vehicle, you are issued with a tax disk. And, this has to be displayed in your vehicle. It’s been noticed that a lot of people are not doing this. It should be displayed on the left hand side of the windscreen or left hand side of the vehicle if it is a motorcycle, quad or trike. It is an offence not to display your tax discs and we will be having a small purge shortly so I think it’s only fair to warn people beforehand that we will be doing this. Some Officers will be going around, taking note of vehicles that don’t have any tax discs on display. And, the owners of those vehicles will be contacted to find out why. What I would say is please save yourself the inconvenience of being contacted by the police and display your tax discs. It’s a simple matter. There are local consumers there who sell holders for these discs. Just put them on the windscreen or on the side of the vehicle so they can be seen.
NEW PROPOSED TAX POLICY:
What do you think of the new proposed tax policy? On the 30th of this month, you will be able to have your say and ask questions about how it will affect you. FIBS will be having a phone-in starting at 1830, lasting an hour, with a panel of 3 who are directly involved in writing the policy. If you don’t want to phone in, you can send your questions to the news room. But remember that phone calls will have priority on the night. If you haven’t seen the policy yet and would like a copy, call into the tax office or e-mail them to have one sent to you.
ELISABETH BOYE:
Goodies arriving on the Elizabeth Boye are late. The 10 day delay is due to the vessel having trouble with her clutch and she had to call into Brazil to be repaired. She will now be arriving around the 21st.
(100X Transcription Service)
