WHILE islanders’ jaws were dropping with incredulity at the truly inspired level of foolishness embodied in the Environment Department’s Billet d’Etat seeking to justify introducing a £26 car tax masquerading as paid parking, two significant matters were lurking in the small print.

The first is that the proposals do not have the wholehearted support of the Policy Council or Treasury and Resources.

That is important. The pages of detail put up by Environment are simply a smokescreen to hide the fact that its members don’t want paid – by the hour – parking but lack the courage to ask the States to change its mind.

The council acknowledges this in its coded comments in the Billet. It supports the principle of paid parking but does not support Environment’s half-baked apology for a system and it also agrees that enough money needs to be generated to pay for the bus subsidy.

In other words, the council wants the cash but does not agree with the way it is being raised.

Treasury is more explicit: ‘…the…department considers that there would be greater merit in introducing a recognised system of paid parking’. That translates as, ‘we won’t say no to the money but for heaven’s sake do it properly.’

The second key element exposed in Environment’s own document is that it is in breach of clear States instructions.

These were to get on with introducing long-stay parking charges in Town at an initial rate of 15p per hour and that it introduced legislation as soon as possible to establish that charge.

What the Billet makes abundantly plain is that Environment has failed to discharge that obligation because it does not like the instructions given to it by the Assembly.

The situation is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs made worse by the department’s desperate attempts to justify its inaction.

Just one example is its breathless announcement that to raise enough money, ‘paid parking would need to… include Saturdays’.

Gosh, whatever next?

The good news, however, is that in the unlikely event of the States accepting the report, members will then go on to scrap airport car park fees.

Why? Because a vote in favour would be to agree that hourly charges are unfair.