Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion moved by the member for Barker. The newest statistics on deaths on our roads are unfortunately heading in the wrong direction. The latest data that has been recorded from January to April this year tragically informs us that 1,310 Australian lives have been lost on our roads in this four-month period. This is an increase of 132 souls compared to the same period last year. The Australian Automobile Association tracks the targets of the Commonwealth government's National Road Safety Strategy, or NRSS, 2021 to 2030. This tracking is revealing that these targets, such as halving road deaths by 2030, are veering way off course.

I want to acknowledge all those people and families who have been affected by motor vehicle accidents, those who have suffered an injury or, worse still, those who have lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident—people like Kent and Kylie Payne in my electorate of Longman, who tragically lost their son Harrison, or Harry, as he was more affectionately known. Harry's life was tragically taken on 30 May 2021 when he was thrown from a four-wheel-drive vehicle as a passenger on the beach at Bribie Island when the driver was driving in a dangerous and reckless manner. He was just 18 years old. His death was senseless and completely preventable. I have had various meetings with Harry's family and attended the Deadlift for Harry day at his beloved World Gym at Burpengary, which, along with so many local businesses in Longman, continues to support the Payne family to raise awareness and funds and hopefully prevent other families from enduring the heartache and loss that they have suffered.

At the event held recently, I was given the honour of saying a few words. I want to reiterate in this place the words that I spoke that day in acknowledging and commending the entire Payne family and their willingness to invest so much time, energy, money and passion into this initiative birthed from such a painful circumstance. Most people, when they lose a child, go into their shell and are reluctant to speak about it after a grieving period, let alone reopen that wound over and over. These people, like the Morcombe family, are a rare type of individual. I thank God for their courage, and I know their efforts will not be in vain. They will save lives.

Like so many things we do in government, we are reactive rather than proactive. If we educate our young drivers as they begin the part of their lives where they get behind the wheel of a vehicle, we can surely prevent many of these senseless deaths. I want to see a driver education centre in the Longman community so that schools and parents have the opportunity for every teenager to go through a course that would teach them how to operate a vehicle responsibly and to actually hear from the families and individuals that have suffered loss or injury through motor vehicle accidents. Many times, it is simply that our young people don't understand the dangers associated with driving what is potentially a deadly weapon, not only to themselves but also to fellow road users. Providing a facility that provides hands-on experience, as well as an environment that encourages an open discussion with law enforcement and those from the medical and trauma professions along with families of victims and those who have injuries sustained from road accidents, will go a long way to preventing more accidents in the future. I also want to acknowledge the Rotary Club of Caboolture and their efforts in delivering the road safety rider awareness program RYDA to high school students in our local community.

There is a saying in business: what gets measured gets improved. As so often happens in our country made up of six states and territories, the data that is collected by governments at a state and territory level is not shared with the Commonwealth. So federal governments are not making decisions with the most accurate and up-to-date data, simply because data sharing is not forced or a fait accompli between all levels of government. I simply cannot understand this mentality or the rationale behind this thinking. Surely all levels of government, regardless of party, would want to reduce the road toll and would be willing to do anything, like sharing data, to ensure this happens. This Labor federal government committed in the 2022 election campaign to cooperate with states and territories to ensure this data was being shared, but to date we are seeing little in results. I implore this Labor government: no more talking. The people of my electorate of Longman and of Australia want action so more Australian lives are not unnecessarily lost on our roads.

See this speech in context