Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Bendigo Advertiser on 17 March 2014 had an article which read, 'Man dies in hospital after a truck crash on the Calder Highway, 19 kilometres from Kyneton.' Further, in the Bendigo Advertiser on 24 March 2014: 'Workplace tragedy: man killed in accident in Newham,' another area near Kyneton; in the Bendigo Advertiser on 19 November 2013: 'Truck carrying 800 sheep tips over and explodes: a Deniliquin man in Axedale dies at the scene'; on 28 October 2013 in the Herald Sun: 'Singleton couple killed in a truck crash'; on 2 September 2012: 'Teenager dies in a car-truck crash near Bendigo,' this occurred near Bendigo in Marong; and 'Woman dies in a car-truck collision in Elmore near Bendigo.'

These are just some of the many deaths that have occurred in my electorate—a regional electorate—in the past few years. If we want to ensure that our roads are safe, we need to ensure not just that we have the infrastructure but that we have support for the users.

That is why the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal matters. Safety matters; life matters. These are workplaces and we need to ensure that we continue with this tribunal to ensure that every worker returns home at the end of the day. That is why I call on the government to commit to this tribunal. (Time expired)

See this speech in context