Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I had the privilege of being the chair of the road safety committee back in 2019-20. Further to that, I had the privilege of actually going to the third international road safety convention. There were representatives of countries from all around the world concentrating on how we reduce the significant road toll in every single country around the world. We know that in Australia alone last year there were around 1,200 deaths. Despite the efforts of governments, despite the efforts of councils, despite the efforts of agencies in the sector, nothing seems to budge.

There was a common thread and a shared international philosophy across four areas: first, people make predictable mistakes that can lead to road crashes; second, the human body has a limited physical ability to tolerate crash forces before harm occurs; third—this is the big one—a shared responsibility exists among those who fund, plan, design, build, manage and use roads and vehicles to prevent crashes that result in serious injury or death; and finally, all parts of the system must be strengthened to multiply their effects so, if one part fails, road users are still protected.

I'll go back to the third area: shared responsibility exists among those who fund—government, plan—government and design—government. We are now seeing that one part has failed—that is, the Labor government's funding to our regions to fix our roads. While the last speaker might have said, 'We're spending this much here and that much there,' the government is not spending it in our electorates, not spending it in Nationals electorates. I know because I go and speak to my mayors, the councils and the councillors, and I speak to our people who use those roads.

Imagine the outcry. Deputy Speaker Swanson, I would imagine you're getting the same outcry in your electorate. Our people are being told—victim shamed—'Your speed limits are going to be reduced from 100 kilometres an hour down to 70 kilometres an hour because you can't be trusted to drive on the same road you've been driving on for 30, 40, 50 years. You are too irresponsible to drive on that road, so we are going to reduce it to take care of you.' That is not the issue. We need to be respected in the regions. We need to be able to make our own decisions. This consultation—thanks for extending it by 28 days, Labor—is an affront. It is offensive to regional and rural people to say that they are too irresponsible to use the roads in their current state. Well, fix their state! Fix the roads! Come into our communities, Labor, and fund our roads. It is a little bit like Crocodile Dundee. Remember? He pulls out a knife, and Crocodile Dundee goes: 'That's not a knife. That's a knife!' Well, we've now got the same competition: 'That's not a pothole. That's a pothole!' That's what our communities are facing.

It is an affront to all those intelligent drivers in the regions—all those farmers, truck drivers and tradies, who know those roads like the back of their hands—to be told: 'We're going to go out and consult, and we're going to protect you from yourselves.' Well, Labor, you're out of touch. You say that the Nationals are out of touch. We know our people. You are out of touch with your electorates and our electorates and the crossbench electorates if you think you can walk into our communities and reduce the speed limit from 100 down to 70. We will not cop it. Fix the roads!

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