Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

recognise the tragic loss of 1,605 lives on our roads in 2006, including 336 in Queensland;

(2)

recognise that road crashes remain the biggest killer of young Australians aged 16 to 25 and that in any given year, people aged between 18 and 24 are twice as likely to die in road smashes than other drivers;

(3)

also recognise that researchers at the University of Queensland have calculated that the death and injury from road accidents costs the national economy some $17 billion a year, or the equivalent of 2.3 per cent of Australia’s gross national income; and

(4)

commend the Government for extending the AusLink Black Spot program, which has already eliminated some 700 dangerous crash sites in Queensland alone, for a further two years, from 2006-07 to 2007-08, at a cost of $90 million.

I am pleased to speak in the parliament today on a very important issue. It essentially concerns the number of road fatalities in the state of Queensland and generally across Australia. Queensland’s road fatalities as of last Thursday, 24 May, stood at 144, and we are not even halfway through the 2007 calendar year. That figure represents 18 more than at the same time last year. If this trend continues, Queensland will record its worst annual road toll figures since 1997, when 360 people were tragically killed. We will be seeing death figures around the 400 mark if this trend continues. This is terribly sad and a shocking probability.

University of Queensland research contends that, on average, every death and injury on our roads has an impact on at least 10 other people, including family members, friends and the wider community. In 2006, the state of Queensland suffered its worst road toll in 10 years, with 337 fatalities. For the benefit of the House, I will give the figures from the previous years. In 2005 there were 328 fatalities; in 2004, there were 311; in 2003, 310; in 2002, 322; in 2001, 324; and in 2000, 317 Australians were tragically killed on Queensland roads. The national figure in 2006 was well in excess of 1,000—1,605 Australians lost their lives on our roads.

My own federal electorate of Ryan has experienced the trauma of its own residents being killed in road fatalities. Last December, the tragic deaths of two young Australians, Daniel and Toby East, two brothers from Pinjarra Hills in the beautiful western suburbs of Ryan, touched the electorate in a way that I have not seen during my time in the area and certainly not while I have been the federal member. These two young students had a full and rich life ahead of them—two lives that gave so much joy to their family, loved ones and friends.

Every life is precious, but all of us will perhaps feel especially sad when we consider that road crashes remain the biggest killer of young Australians aged between 16 and 25. Each year in Australia about 300 young men and 80 young women aged under 25 die in car crashes, out of a national road toll of around 1,600. This means that in any given year Australians aged between 18 and 24 are twice as likely to die in road accidents as drivers in any other age group. Per kilometre driven, the death rate of drivers aged under 25 is more than four times that of drivers aged between 25 and 54.

I do not believe there is one single solution but rather that we must implement a suite of measures to bring down the number of fatal road accidents. The Australian government’s AusLink Black Spot Program is an initiative that is certainly making a huge impact on keeping down road fatalities. The program is a great example of the practical way in which the federal government is working to reduce the road toll and is addressing the problem at the local level, on local streets and at local intersections.

I understand a statewide online survey conducted by the RACQ in February last year of more than 10,000 Queensland drivers found that the most preferred options for cutting the road toll were identifying or fixing potential road and traffic hazards, with which 99 per cent of respondents agreed, and fixing black spots with known crash histories, with which 99 per cent of respondents also agreed.

The AusLink Black Spot Program is now in its 11th year. Since 1996 it has eliminated some 750 dangerous crash sites in Queensland through more than $97.6 million of federal funding. The Black Spot Program has been extended by the Howard government for a further two years at a cost of $90 million. The Ryan electorate will share in these funds, with $287,000 allocated to fix the traffic signals at the intersection of Westminster Road and Clarence Road at Indooroopilly. Anyone who knows the local roads of Indooroopilly will realise that this intersection is in desperate need of upgrade. Ryan has benefited in the past and I hope that it will continue to benefit from this worthwhile program.

Another initiative that I believe will have a long-term impact is the introduction of compulsory defensive driving courses for all new drivers. Last year I called for defensive driving courses to be made compulsory for new drivers during the licence application process. The incredible feedback I got from Ryan mums and dads was overwhelming. (Time expired)

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