Laws will be revamped and toughened to make holding a licence something to be cherished.

Magistrates now have the power to take someone’s licence for any offence, possibly even being drunk in a public place.

While that would only happen in an extraordinary case, it indicates how serious the government is about curbing lawbreakers and protecting the community.

Put simply, driving need not be an element of an offence for someone to lose his or her rights on the road.

Road rage is one offence particularly targeted for loss of licence — and rightly so.

Attorney General Robert Clark says where a court believes the best way to pull an offender into line is by taking away his or her licence, it can do so.

Curfews, no-go zones and bans on licensed premises also come into play under community corrections orders.

Such restraints have for many years been used in NSW, either as conditions of bonds or part of bail.

It’s a fact that a driver’s licence is a privilege, not a right.