Labor backs road safety office

The Labor opposition government has committed to establishing a National Office of Road Safety.

At the party’s two-day national conference in Adelaide, shadow minister for transport and infrastructure Anthony Albenese promised a Labor win at the 2019 election would also see the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal established.

Senator and shadow assistant minister for road safety Glenn Sterle says when it comes to road trauma, enough is enough.

“After decades of decline, the road toll is again heading in the wrong direction,” he says.

“Labor will establish a National Office of Road Safety; this dedicated unit within the Department of Infrastructure will be tasked with improving data collection, promoting best practice research, and leading the development of the next ten-year National Road Safety Strategy, which will commence in 2021,” Sterle explains.

He says Labor will make sure the department’s strategy draws on the evidence proven in the Inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020.

Sterle also vows the strategy will be designed in tandem with state and territory governments, their respective law enforcement agencies, motoring organisations such as the NRMA and RACV, qualified experts and research organisations, plus other “relevant stakeholders”.

Labor promises to make national motor vehicle safety standards “up to date and fit for purpose” and gets the latest vehicle safety technology such as autonomous emergency braking into the wider fleet.

The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) and the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) have both praised the opposition’s definitive stance on the vexed issue.

“For more than a year, the AAA has been calling for all parties to support this policy,” AAA chief executive Michael Bradley says.

“AAA congratulates Labor for showing federal leadership in road safety,” he adds.

“This is the serious response we need for a crisis that kills more than 100 Australians every month and costs the economy $30 billion every year,” Bradley explains.

“The National Road Safety Strategy is failing to meet crucial targets, and a National Office of Road Safety is essential to rectifying this.”

ANCAP director of communications and advocacy Rhianne Robson says it’s about time.

“With more than 2.7 million registered vehicles on our roads aged 15 years or older, we must focus attention on accelerating the uptake of vehicles with the latest safety technologies and implement strategies and set targets to reduce the age of the fleet,” she explains.

“Strong bi-partisan support and leadership on road safety must continue if we are to see real gains made in reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads,” Robson says.

“The number of lives lost this year is down slightly, and we trust this will continue through the holiday period, yet progress to meet national targets has stalled so we need to look at ways to overcome the challenge,” she concludes.