Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Hansard source

In joining the debate I must say I have been impressed by the contributions made by members on both sides. In my role as the shadow parliamentary secretary for roads and regional transport, issues of road safety are of pressing concern to me both personally and professionally.

This debate, particularly as it relates to motorcyclists, is an important one for us to have in this place. The number of motorcyclists on our roads is increasing, and, when you note that they still only make up about one per cent of the total traffic but account for 16 per cent of deaths, clearly we have a problem and clearly there are opportunities for improvement.

In my electorate of Gippsland, the motorcycling community is mixed. The local community has a very strong way of life, if you like. There are people who do it for recreation but also for commuting use. But then we have a massive influx of motorcycle riders associated with the Phillip Island Grand Prix. Every year we are inundated at least once—maybe twice, depending on the events at Phillip Island. Tragically, almost like clockwork, every year we lose people en route or returning from Phillip Island. The roads we are talking about are the Princes Highway, the Great Alpine Road and the Strzelecki Highway through Mirboo North. They are very popular motorbike routes, because they are winding and scenic. It is a way for them to get to the island and really enjoy their time getting there and returning.

Unfortunately, some of the riders perhaps mix their ambition with their ability when it comes to riding on some of these roads. When we have this debate tonight we need to be conscious (1) of building safety into the road environment but also (2) of the mutual responsibility that is placed upon motorcycle riders to ride within their own ability levels, to make sure they are not exceeding speed limits and that they are behaving appropriately. It is an important debate, and I do not stand here to chastise motorcycle riders for the freedom and the speed they enjoy as part of their recreational pursuit. But at the same time there are mutual responsibilities for all road users, to drive to the conditions, to recognise their own limitations and to abide by the speed limits.

The motion very clearly raises some important issues, particularly relating to building safety into the road environment. It is an issue that we need to think more about as a community. We have had a lot of campaigns about improving driver and rider behaviour and focusing on police enforcement, but I really think it has been an effort by governments perhaps to divert public attention away from the really big issue, which is the safety of the road environment itself. There is a lot more we can do as governments at both state and federal levels to make roads safer. The emphasis on enforcement and on driver and rider behaviour has been a way for governments to actually hand-pass some of the responsibility away from their own task, which is infrastructure costs. The simple fact is that all the assessment done in road safety over the last five years has indicated that most gains in reducing the road toll are going to come from improving the safety of the road environment, and that is something we need to all aspire to at both state and federal levels.

One of the other issues that has been touched on by previous speakers is about raising awareness among nonmotorcyclists about the other users of the road environment—the smaller users in this case, whether it be motorbikes or pushbikes. I know the member for Cowper is a keen cyclist as well; I have ridden with him, some vast distances at times. It is important that road users recognise the other road users, recognise that 'might is not always right', and that you have to start recognising the small users in the road environment. It is very easy when you are driving a car or driving a truck to say: 'I did not see you. I did not see that motorbike. They were caught in a blind spot.' Frankly, that is not a good enough excuse. 'I did not see you' is not a good enough excuse. We really need to look beyond the blind spot, to take a second look and make sure there is not a motorcyclist or bike rider there in that blind spot. So that issue of mutual responsibility I touched on before extends beyond motorcycle users to all road users. Drivers of cars and drivers of trucks, for example, need to take responsibility for looking for some of these smaller vehicles on the roads. In the time I have left, I just want to mention one promotion that we have done in the Gippsland area in the lead-up to things like the Superbike and the Grand Prix, and that is that we have initiated pit stops in some of our smaller towns, encouraging the motorcycle riders to take a break and get off their bikes, giving them a free helmet wash-down, getting them a free cup of coffee from the local shops and that type of thing. It is a good way of getting the riders to stop and take a break and enjoy some of the smaller towns along the way. It is something that the small communities across Gippsland have been very good at doing.

Finally, in the very brief amount of time I have left, can I just pass on my congratulations for the great achievements of Casey Stoner, a young man who has led the way in his sport and is retiring at the end of this year. We wish him well as he returns to the island in just a few months time. I am sure that many Australian motorcycle riders will be there to cheer him on.

See this speech in context