Launceston failed contesting Alan Charlton's unlawful meters claim

In a decision on Friday, a magistrate threw out eight complaints from the council relating to ten parking infringement notices against Mr Charlton.

But he said his case could affect many more Launceston drivers and also involve the highest levels of state government.

In response, the council has said many parking infringement notices that are challenged through the Magistrates Court each year, and at times, it is necessary to withdraw from a proceeding.

Mayor Matthew Garwood said there were many reasons the City of Launceston may choose to withdraw or not pursue legal action regarding parking infringements and that the council remained confident in its parking controls.

Mr Charlton contested the parking infringements in the Launceston Magistrates Court, claiming that the council was making illegal use of blue parking meters that require drivers to input their number plates into the machine.

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According to Mr Charlton, the council had failed to correctly establish the roadside parking spaces and its parking meters in accordance with the relevant legislation.

"My allegation is there is no provision within the Highways Act that allows the City of Launceston to use a number plate solely in lieu of correctly marking out roadside parking spaces and correctly referencing those individual parking spaces with a meter," he said through an emailed statement.

"Therefore, the council itself cannot legally charge for roadside parking.

"If the City of Launceston is unable to prosecute me under law, they should turn off their roadside parking devices until they can do so."

The case could have wider implications for the state government, he said.

He estimated that Launceston drivers have paid tens of millions of dollars in parking fines via what he claimed were unlawful parking meters.

"What is even more distressing is the City of Launceston has forwarded unpaid infringements to the State Monetary Penalty Enforcement Service (MPES)," Mr Charlton said.

"The MPES may have caused severe disruption to citizens through its enforcement measures, such as cancelling licenses and registrations for infringements that I allege are illegal."

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Local Government Minister Nic Street had failed the citizens of Launceston and the people of Tasmania through his inaction on the issue, Mr Charlton claimed.

He said he contacted Mr Street about the issue last year, after the City of Launceston withdrew similar parking infringement notices.

"I requested the minister act in regards to stopping the City of Launceston from operating its new parking structure, or at the very least, investigating and determining its legality and the implications for the MPES," Mr Charlton said.

"I specifically asked the minister what measures the state government took to ensure that fines sent to the MPES were legally compliant.

"The minister has yet to answer this specific question."

Labor local government spokesman Luke Edmunds said the case showed that Mr Street had failed to do his job.

"Minister Street needs to explain what he knew about this issue, when he knew about it and what he did," Mr Edmunds said.

"It appears as though he was warned of a significant issue and chose to just ignore it."

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A spokesperson for Mr Street declined to comment on the issue.

Cr Garwood said the council did not provide public comments in respect to specific cases.

"The claims being made as a result of today's case are speculative in nature and are not agreed by the council," he said.

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