Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would like to congratulate the honourable member for Gilmore on bringing this matter before the House and giving it an airing. I do not have sufficient information or details about the operation of some of the technical aspects of the motion, particularly the Australian design rule that the honourable member talked about in the scheme, to commit, but I can certainly commit to the intent of her private member’s motion. I welcome the honourable member’s visitors from the bus action group who are in this place to hear this discussion tonight. You are most welcome.

The honourable member for Gilmore said that governments have left it to the state and territory governments. I researched this issue today, but that is another area where I would need some particular information because I am not clear on who has the actual power. I think it is with the state and territory governments, but I will turn to that later when I mention some of the other actions that the states have done, particularly Western Australia, which I found in my research. I am not sure what legislative power, either formally or coercively, exists in this area.

I am mindful when we discuss such issues to go gently in my speeches, but I realise that such issues also demand strong action to try to correct some areas. Families who have lost loved ones in bus and car accidents do listen to and read what we say in this place and it is never my intention at all to add inadvertently to anyone’s grief when we are talking about fatalities, particularly of children. I will try to stick to the facts in speaking about road safety, including for buses, which is what we are looking at tonight.

My licence is endorsed for driving small buses up to a certain size as long as it is not for a commercial use. I used to drive them a lot with children, babies, a lot of women and some men. I was thinking of it recently because I was asked to do it again when people needed to get from A to B and they did not have transport. They knew I had that endorsement. When I used to do it it was a tremendous responsibility to have the safety of those people in my hands, particularly the children. I have enormous respect for bus drivers who do this day in and day out, particularly driving over some of the roads in my area of country New South Wales which can be even more challenging. I am mindful of that. When I was asked recently to do it I did say yes because it looked like they would not be able to get from A to B—it transpired that I did not have to—but I was a bit apprehensive about it. I was thinking of the responsibility.

I know some of the roads from having travelled in New South Wales. I remember once visiting a place where the school bus driver, a local woman, used to stop the bus because the bridge was unsafe. She got the kids to walk across the bridge before she drove across the bridge and put the kids back in the bus and continued on. We helped get the money to fix that bridge. It was so clear that that had to happen.

I have campaigned on issues of safety over the years. One issue I particularly took up was the speed zones going past schools. I had a big fight, particularly with the Roads and Traffic Authority in that area. I fought tooth and nail. I know there are a lot of people who have fought on that particularly issue in different parts of New South Wales at different times. I first got involved in it when Wal Murray was the minister for roads at state level. As the honourable member for Gilmore said tonight, things go slowly, and too slowly when we are talking about the safety of kids. All of these areas have taken time trying to get the states and territories on board. I still think 40 kilometres per hour is too fast past schools, but I am not sure I will get it any lower.

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