Transport—Nostalgia numberplates
Brief ministerial statement
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski (Kingsley—Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport) (9:14 am): I rise to update the house on a new series of optional plates from the Department of Transport that has captured the imagination of Western Australians. Launched on 1 April—but I assure members that this is not an April Fools' Day joke!—the nostalgia optional plates series was developed by the Department of Transport's Plates WA team following community requests for iconic WA plate designs to be made available. Originally released as WA's official state plate between 1978 and 1997, the nostalgia plate design of black writing on yellow plates and black writing on white plates reconnects drivers in 2025 with our motoring heritage. In January, the Department of Transport opened an expression of interest period to enable WA drivers to wind back the clock on this own little piece of WA motoring history. Perhaps their first car had the iconic black on yellow number plates. Maybe the combination of the plates on their grandparents' car is forever etched in their memory or perhaps they have a classic car of that era that would be complemented with a set of nostalgia plates.
In the four weeks since the nostalgia plates series went live, over 450 plates have been sold. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 58% of the applications have been for the old black-on-yellow design, reflecting great enthusiasm for connecting with our motoring history and reviving the iconic look of the past. These iconic WA plates are available for purchase directly through the Plates WA website for $289. Drivers of vehicles already sporting the original state plate are also able to pay the same fee to convert their current plate to an optional plate. As an optional plate, drivers have the right to display or trade their nostalgia plate and have it remade if lost, stolen or damaged. I look forward to seeing some of these plates on our roads in the near future.
