Anne Webster MP – How about they just fix the bloody roads?

“How about they just fix the bloody roads?” – that’s the immediate reaction of The Nationals’ Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Dr Anne Webster MP to the Albanese Labor Government’s plan to reduce default national speed limits to as low as 70 kilometres an hour on sealed and unsealed roads.

“Let me be crystal clear – we do not want to see a single life lost on any road in Australia,” Dr Webster said, “Reducing speed limits is the lazy approach to road safety reform, where road upgrades and appropriately resourcing law enforcement can make a far longer-lasting difference.”

The Albanese Government’s plan includes changing the Australian Road Rules so that 100 kilometres an hour is not the default limit on some regional Australian roads. One scenario under consideration would see the default upper limit on sealed and unsealed roads to become 70 kilometres per hour.

The Member for Mallee in north-west Victoria said the Albanese Government’s plan adds insult to injury for regional Australians, who suffer from poorly funded regional roads.

Dr Webster’s recent 5,000 plus survey of her Mallee electorate saw over 74 per cent of residents rating roads in the electorate as being in poor condition.

“Across my own electorate, councils have imposed temporary speed limits at potholed or crumbling roads because repair work is taking months to occur.  We can’t accept a national regional slowdown because Labor Governments won’t to spend a penny in the bush,” Dr Webster said.

“Regional Australians are being left to drive on dangerous roads because the Albanese Labor Government raids regions to buy votes in the capital cities.”

“As Shadow Minister for Local Government I know that rural and remote shires are in diabolical financial shape due to cost-shifting, misapplication of federal Financial Assistance Grants and shrinking rate bases,” Dr Webster said.
“Shires would love to improve their roads to a safe standard – they simply can’t get all the necessary work done due to being starved of resources by Federal and State Labor Governments.”

“The solution to regional road safety is to improve the roads, not to further exacerbate the tyranny of distance.”
Dr Webster backed the sentiments of NSW rural doctor Dr Amy Kelly, who told Farm Weekly today:

“Dr Kelly is exactly right – reducing speed limits will not improve regional roads, it will do the opposite,” Dr Webster said.

“I demand the Government provide the evidence that the roads they intend to target are the roads where the greater proportion of bad accidents are occurring, and also to show that the condition of the road contributed to the accident.

“Ultimately, Governments have a duty of care to protect citizens and if they are negligently leaving Australians at risk, they are obliged to spend the money to make the roads safer – not to throttle the regional Australian economic engine room.”

The Nationals secured in the federal Coalition agreement a commitment to maintain the $20 billion Regional Australia Future Fund that was taken to the May election, which includes a commitment to pay for regional infrastructure.

As Shadow Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, Dr Webster encouraged regional Councils to make submissions to the consultation before the 27 October closing date about the impact of speed limit reductions in regional Australia.

Dr Webster encouraged all Australians to make their views heard in the consultation.

“How do we develop regional Australia if we are slowed down and restricted at every turn?” Dr Webster said.