Clunes To NSW Government: Hands Off Our Camera

The far-north New South Wales community of Clunes has won a battle the state government probably never expected to be in: the right to keep its one speed camera.

The village's speed camera was among the 38 locations determined in a major audit last month to be of no significant road safety benefit. The report led NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay to order the 38 cameras deactivated and removed.

This week however, the Clunes community successfully lobbied the minister to switch its camera back on. The camera was installed nearly a decade ago after a number of crashes eventually resulted in a fatality, and the small village believes its benefit is real.

The Roads Minister's office has confirmed that motorists caught by the camera will not be fined, receiving only a warning notice instead.

Speaking with the ABC this week, NRMA Motoring & Services President Wendy Machin said that all communities should consider whether cameras in their area offer a road safety benefit.

"If the local community is concerned then I think they should go back through their local channels, probably their local member, and have that particular site looked at," she said.