Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to stand with the people of O'Connor, whose lives will be negatively impacted by the Albanese government's proposal to lower the default regional road speed to as low as 70 kilometres per hour. Thankfully, the coalition noticed that the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts' public submission process was not open for the requisite 42 days and secured an extension. Now regional residents, tourists, transporters, farmers and business owners have a proper opportunity to have their say on the cost and inconvenience of this bad policy. O'Connor's 20,000 kilometres of regional roads are already badly neglected, following the 2023 government review which led to Labor cutting regional road funding. They've dispensed with the Roads of Strategic Importance program and are abolishing the popular Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.

In contrast, when the coalition was in government, we prioritised funding programs for regional roads and freight routes, accident black spots, bridges renewal and heavy-vehicle rest bays. This is how you keep regional roads safe and the wheels of enterprise and leisure turning, all while reducing driver fatigue, one of the greatest contributors to road crashes and fatalities. A blanket reduction from 100 to 70 or even 80 kilometres an hour across our regional road networks simply makes no sense. Labor's go-slow will only increase travel times and driver fatigue and impede the delivery of critical goods and services to regional electorates like O'Connor.