Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Three weeks ago I spoke on the need to upgrade Richmond Road to dual carriageway from the M7 to Richmond. I am sorry to say that I need to rise and speak about it again because there have been not just more fatalities but a number of accidents on that road since then. In that short time there have been two major accidents. One was fatal and the other involved a B-double truck, a 12-tonne rigid truck and three other vehicles. Thankfully, no-one died in this particular accident, but emergency services spent more than an hour cutting people from the wreckage and a 42-year-old male remains in a critical but stable condition. He has a family, people who care for him, and responsibilities.

Back in November 2006 the NSW government announced details of the program to upgrade Richmond Road. The improvements included an upgrade of the following intersections: Richmond Road and Garfield Road, Richmond Road and St Marys Road, Richmond Road at the roundabout intersection of Knox Road and Quakers Hill Parkway—it is a wonder that somebody has not been killed at that intersection—and Richmond Road and Northern Road. That was two years ago. The only roadworks underway—they have begun; they are not finished—are the Knox Road roundabout and the intersection at St Marys Road. Two sites from a very limited list of upgrades announced two years ago are not good enough. Upgrades of intersections alone, while welcome, are not good enough; they are just temporary solutions.

The only solution, one that will deliver some safety along Richmond Road, is to make it a dual carriageway from the M7 ramp all the way through to Richmond. This road has been full of tragedy for nearly 20 years and it is just worsening. The number of fatalities and the number of accidents are increasing. In 2007, I spoke in parliament about Richmond Road. I said then, and it holds true today, that if this road were located in the middle of Sydney, or maybe in a marginal state Labor seat, the New South Wales Labor government would have committed to upgrading it fully by now. But the New South Wales government is broke. It is a basket case. Its economic mismanagement means that problem roads like Richmond Road will continue to hurt people and put more strain on emergency departments, emergency services and the broader community. How do families cope with the loss of a loved one, with the long-term care required for a seriously injured person’s rehabilitation, with the loss of income, the future plans postponed or never realised?

Only seven kilometres of Richmond Road’s 34 kilometres are dual carriageway. The remaining 27 kilometres from the M7 overpass are single lane, yet this road has seen a massive increase in vehicle movements, including truck movements, as people take advantage of the M7. The New South Wales government might say the cost is too high to upgrade the whole road to dual carriageway. I say the cost to the community is far higher not to do so. I call on the New South Wales government and the Rudd government to invest desperately needed infrastructure funds to upgrade Richmond Road. If they fail to do so within a reasonable time, the people of Western Sydney will have every right to feel betrayed and ignored. Worse, their safety will continue to be compromised until this road is fixed.