Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on a matter that is close to most Australians' hearts. Indeed, it's regularly front of mind for those living in regional and rural Australia, as every death in a small community hits hard. I'm talking about the tragic direction of our nation's road toll: 1,240 people died on Australian roads in the 12 months to 31 August this year, and more than 100 were hospitalised each and every day. In my home state of South Australia, in the 12 months to September, 104 people lost their lives. That's a 28.4 per cent increase on the corresponding period a year ago. I'm not even going to start with my disappointment in those opposite cutting and delaying live-saving road safety infrastructure projects thanks to their 90-day review, which has now passed 171 days. I'm going to focus on data collection. I've spoken on this matter previously. In fact, I moved a motion in this place 12 months ago calling for a nationally consistent approach to data collection and distribution of road safety data to establish a national road safety data-sharing agreement between the states, the territories and the Commonwealth. What have those opposite done in that time? Nothing.

Before the last election—on 17 May 2022, to be exact—the now minister, as opposition spokesman said:

We will cooperate with the states and territories to improve the timeliness and quality of road trauma data and look for opportunities to ensure we can extract better quality road safety data from states and territories in return for funding of road projects.

Yet, despite negotiating the new National Partnership Agreement on land transport infrastructure projects, no progress at all has been made on this issue. The government didn't even include improving road safety as a specific term of reference in the review of the current agreement, which expires on 30 June next year.

Those opposite are required to negotiate with states and territories the terms of their annual $10 billion road budget. Every state and territory government will collect important information and data relating to every road fatality and serious injury. In fact, for every fatality crash, all states and territories record the following: the number of people involved, their behaviour, licence status, the type of crash, possible causes, vehicles involved, and weather and road conditions. States and territories also collect data about the road and traffic law enforcement. It is not acceptable that in 2023 we have no national data on the quality of our road network, the type of road crashes that are taking place, the factors causing them, and the enforcement of our road rules or their relative effectiveness. Road trauma continues to hospitalise 100 Australians daily, at a cost to the economy of $30 billion. I don't think it's too much to ask in return for the $10 billion that the Commonwealth provides the states and territories in road funding each year that they be compelled to share this important data with us. They could share it with each other, with the federal government, with independent experts and, importantly, with the public. After all, it's public funding and should be spent at the right time, in the right way, and at the right place, but only data will ensure this happens.

I stood in this place 12 months ago calling for consistent data collection and sharing. I'm standing here, almost 12 months to the day, to reiterate these calls and to put on the record my support for the Australian Automobile Association, who are calling for the very same thing. Data saves lives—that's the Australian Automobile Association's campaign. The Minister can Google it if she wants to learn a bit more. On behalf of the coalition, and as a member of the opposition executive with responsibility for road safety policy, together with my coalition colleague in the other place Senator Bridget McKenzie, we have pledged our support to their campaign. On this side of the chamber we want to see the road toll in decline. We want to see investment in the most dangerous of our roads to save lives. We commend the Australian Automobile Association for their campaign—we're in full support of it, and those opposite should be, too. But while I have got the opportunity, I condemn those opposite, the Albanese government, for their approach to road safety.