LABOR FAILS TO TAKE ACTION ON ROAD SAFETY DATA
TONY PASIN MP
MEMBER FOR BARKER
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT
MEDIA RELEASE
LABOR FAILS TO TAKE ACTION ON ROAD SAFETY DATA
The Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting (ITMM) held in Hobart today has failed to adequately address the current road safety crisis being experienced across many jurisdictions, says Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Tony Pasin MP.
“The meeting acknowledged the increasing national road toll yet failed to make any mention of the need for data to inform solutions,” Mr Pasin said.
“While I’m glad to see that Road Safety has been returned to the agenda after a newly elected Labor Government removed it from ITMM discussions last year, the discussion seems to be noticeably missing one crucial element needed to improve road safety – data.”
Mr Pasin said the need to collect data to inform and measure road safety was paramount to informing policy and investment into road safety, and that this was an important item of discussion in previous Infrastructure and Transport Minister’s meetings.
“We need a coordinated national approach to road safety data. The former Coalition Government was committed to establishing a national data sharing agreement with States and Territories, but this no longer seems to be a focus at Labor’s Infrastructure and Transport Minister’s meetings.”
Current data collected by States and Territories is not coordinated nationally, and it lacks details in many key areas such as serious injury.
“There needs to be consistent metrics and reporting formats for data coordinated and made available at a national level to inform policy and investment in road safety across all levels of government and stakeholders.
“With a new National Partnership Agreement currently being negotiated, this should be front and centre of ITMM discussions, because any delay in the states and territories consistently measuring and reporting data is a delay in bringing down the national road toll,” Mr Pasin said.
Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds 87247730
