Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While no-one in this chamber wants to see a single death on our roads, dropping the default speed limit of unmarked regional roads to 70 kilometres an hour is not the solution. Don't get me wrong—the regional road toll is appalling. Two-thirds of all road crash fatalities occur in the regions, yet only 30 per cent of the population live there. But a default speed limit of 70 kilometres per hour will cause more problems than it solves.

I ask you, Deputy Speaker: can you imagine facing hundreds or thousands of kilometres at 70 kilometres an hour and doing that regularly if not all day? The economic loss to transport companies and flow-on effects on agricultural and mining companies will absolutely impact on productivity, and the change would certainly frustrate mums and dads who simply want to take their kids to school or to sport. Regional Australians are not mugs. There are many ways to reduce the road toll, and key among them is road maintenance. When I speak to Mallee constituents, they just want the government to fix the bloody roads.