Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Progress on road safety requires a fiercely bipartisan commitment—each government needs to build on the work of the last to continue the momentum. I understand this, as I spent over seven years on the Ministerial Council on Transport. So a unilateral decision by the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development to scrap the heavy haulage five-star safety rating scheme is irresponsible and wasteful. This project, which was to provide a clear market incentive for trucking companies to lift their game and improve road safety, was developed after a 13 per cent increase in road fatalities in New South Wales in 2009. It was supported by Liberal and Labor state governments and, indeed, was co-funded by the New South Wales Liberal government. Industry leader Ron Finemore chaired the steering group and there was strong commitment from the industry. Now it seems that a former National Party member got in the ear of the minister and nearly two years of hard work has been abandoned without discussion with this very senior committee and without any formal discussion with industry.

The 2014 crash statistics show 200 heavy haulage fatalities. This is a significant increase from the previous year and it demonstrates we have a very serious problem. We need to do more, not less. It is totally wrong to abandon the development of a system that has improved safety in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. (Time expired)