❓ Question regarding funding allocation from the Road Trauma Trust Account (RTTA) for road safety initiatives, particularly police operations. The Minister defends the government's record expenditure and criticises the opposition's past actions and statements on the issue.
AnsweredQoN 205Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ROAD SAFETY —
FUNDING
205. Mr P.T. MILES to the Minister for Road Safety:
Mr Speaker, I acknowledge the Kingsway —
Mr A.P. O'Gorman interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Joondalup, I formally call you to order for the
first time today. Member for Albany, despite Collingwood's victory over
the weekend, I formally call you to order as well for the first time today.
Mr P.T. MILES : I
acknowledge the year 3 Kingsway Christian College students who have been
circulating around Parliament House today.
I was extremely pleased to hear of the minister's
outline of the road trauma trust account budget and the fantastic road safety
initiatives it contained. I was surprised at the comments from the opposition
spokesperson regarding funding for certain police operations. Will the minister
outline to the house some of the initiatives and explain the funding for the
police?
FUNDING
205. Mr P.T. MILES to the Minister for Road Safety:
Mr Speaker, I acknowledge the Kingsway —
Mr A.P. O'Gorman interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Joondalup, I formally call you to order for the
first time today. Member for Albany, despite Collingwood's victory over
the weekend, I formally call you to order as well for the first time today.
Mr P.T. MILES : I
acknowledge the year 3 Kingsway Christian College students who have been
circulating around Parliament House today.
I was extremely pleased to hear of the minister's
outline of the road trauma trust account budget and the fantastic road safety
initiatives it contained. I was surprised at the comments from the opposition
spokesperson regarding funding for certain police operations. Will the minister
outline to the house some of the initiatives and explain the funding for the
police?
AnswerView source ↗
I am delighted to explain to the house the funding for the
RTTA. It was a very proud day for me on Sunday to make an announcement of a
record expenditure of $87.7 million from the road trauma trust account to pay
for road safety initiatives. Half that money is to be spent on upgrading our
metropolitan intersections and to make safer our country roads near the
run-offs where accidents have occurred. Another area that is very important is
manning and implementing the booze buses. We have taken on 20 extra police
officers to do that and we will target thousands more police hours a year
towards booze and drug testing. Also, 20 new drug-testing machines will be
purchased. That is just part of the funding; the other part will be spent on 48
concept cars and the concept motorcycle, which is a world first. That will have
a fantastic effect on road safety and will detect stolen vehicles and
unlicensed drivers and have many other benefits.
I thought everyone would say, ''What a wonderful
announcement the minister is making today; this government is really doing
something about road safety.'' We are really trying to do something to
save lives and prevent critical injuries on our roads. That is what members
opposite would think, would they not? Did we get that? Yes, we certainly got it
from most people but not from the opposition spokesperson because she has a
very short memory.
Several members interjected.
Mr
R.F. JOHNSON : I want to remind members —
Mr
M.P. Whitely interjected.
The
SPEAKER : I suggest to members on both my left and my right that if you wish
to continue to interject, I will oblige you by formally naming you.
Mr
R.F. JOHNSON : I was quite interested to see what the member for Midland did
when she was Minister for Police and road safety for quite a few years. I point
to two press releases in her first year, the first being from Friday, 14 September
2001, which is headed ''All red-light and speed camera revenue to be
spent on road safety''. She spent eight years in government and never
did it. The second one —
Several members interjected.
Mr
R.F. JOHNSON : Members opposite hate the truth, that is the trouble. Her
second press release is dated Wednesday, 31 October 2001 and states —
Mrs Roberts said the State Government
would meet its pre-election promise —
She said ''pre-election
promise'' —
to direct all the proceeds from both
red light and speed camera to reduce the State's road toll.
Did they do it in eight years? No,
they did not. It gets worse. The member has a very short memory. I listened to
every word she said when she was interviewed on Paul Murray's program
yesterday. I was very interested —
Mrs
M.H. Roberts interjected.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I
hope she did, because I spoke the truth.
Several members interjected.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
On three occasions Paul Murray tried to pin her down and she would not answer
truthfully. In relation to money from the road trauma trust account to pay for
extra police hours to carry out road safety initiatives and road patrols, Paul
Murray asked —
Is there anything particularly
wrong with that money being used to pay for the police?
Michelle Roberts said, and I quote, ''Yeah, because it's
a con.''
Several members interjected.
Mr
R.F. JOHNSON : A con! She then went on to say —
So it was certainly suggested to
me by the Police Department from time to time who have always been rather
interested in getting their hands on the Road Safety Trust Fund money that
perhaps they could get some more overtime for officers doing road —
Safety —
patrols and arguably road safety
things and so forth, and I said well simply that's the thin edge of
the wedge,
Paul Murray then went on to say —
So let me just nail you down on
this. Are you saying that Labor would not spend Road Trauma Trust Fund money on
funding more police officers or police overtime?
Michelle Roberts said —
What I'm saying is when
I was a police minister, when that suggestion was made to me, I said I would
find that unacceptable and that I thought that the public would find it
unacceptable at that time.
Paul Murray then said, for the third
attempt to tie her down —
Let's just finish getting
one thing absolutely clear. Labor would not spend this Road Trauma Trust Fund
money on funding police officers and police overtime?
Michelle Roberts said, ''Look
we think that's wrong'', but she did not think it was wrong because—I
have got to tell you the most important bit of this, Mr Speaker—when
she was the police minister, she accepted money from the road trauma trust
account to pay for extra policing hours. In 2001–02, she accepted $388 444.
In 2002–03, she accepted $438 588 and so on and so forth. In an
election year, 2008–09, that was the budget time, she accepted $2.5 million
—
Mrs
M.H. Roberts interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Midland, I have been very patient. I have been on my feet now for
about 10 seconds and you interject. I formally call you to order for the first
time today. Minister, I expect that you did anticipate some interjections on
this. I am not asking you to respond to me—not at all. Minister, if you
are going to go on in this fashion, I think perhaps you should anticipate
further interjections. Members, when I am on my feet I do not want to hear from
anybody.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
Let me just say this: in the budget of 2008–09, which was when the
member for Midland was a minister and she put in place this system of —
Several members interjected.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
It is called, in case her memory —
Several members interjected.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
She is forgetting things! It is called the STEP program, and her other
colleagues know all about it.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
I wasn't the minister!
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
You were in 2001 and for quite a few years, but you did not tell the truth to
Paul Murray. You would not own up to it, would you?
Point of Order
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS :
It seems that the whole of the minister's answer seems to be about me,
so I think he should be expecting interjections. You have called me to order at
one point. I understand that you have directed him to get on with his answer
and it is not what he has done. I need some kind of clarification from you, Mr
Speaker, about whether I am entitled to interject or whether you intend to call
me to order.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Midland, I am not going to tell any member in this place when I
might call them to order because there could be a whole range of different
reasons why a person gets called to order, so I am not going to give you any
particular response to that question. I am shortly going to run out of patience
with both sides of this place. I indicate to the minister that I do expect a
very short response, otherwise I am going to sit you down, minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I
will conclude now in simply saying that the member for Midland carries a lot of
baggage, but the biggest baggage she carries is a bucketload of hypocrisy!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Mandurah, I formally call you to order for the first time today.
RTTA. It was a very proud day for me on Sunday to make an announcement of a
record expenditure of $87.7 million from the road trauma trust account to pay
for road safety initiatives. Half that money is to be spent on upgrading our
metropolitan intersections and to make safer our country roads near the
run-offs where accidents have occurred. Another area that is very important is
manning and implementing the booze buses. We have taken on 20 extra police
officers to do that and we will target thousands more police hours a year
towards booze and drug testing. Also, 20 new drug-testing machines will be
purchased. That is just part of the funding; the other part will be spent on 48
concept cars and the concept motorcycle, which is a world first. That will have
a fantastic effect on road safety and will detect stolen vehicles and
unlicensed drivers and have many other benefits.
I thought everyone would say, ''What a wonderful
announcement the minister is making today; this government is really doing
something about road safety.'' We are really trying to do something to
save lives and prevent critical injuries on our roads. That is what members
opposite would think, would they not? Did we get that? Yes, we certainly got it
from most people but not from the opposition spokesperson because she has a
very short memory.
Several members interjected.
Mr
R.F. JOHNSON : I want to remind members —
Mr
M.P. Whitely interjected.
The
SPEAKER : I suggest to members on both my left and my right that if you wish
to continue to interject, I will oblige you by formally naming you.
Mr
R.F. JOHNSON : I was quite interested to see what the member for Midland did
when she was Minister for Police and road safety for quite a few years. I point
to two press releases in her first year, the first being from Friday, 14 September
2001, which is headed ''All red-light and speed camera revenue to be
spent on road safety''. She spent eight years in government and never
did it. The second one —
Several members interjected.
Mr
R.F. JOHNSON : Members opposite hate the truth, that is the trouble. Her
second press release is dated Wednesday, 31 October 2001 and states —
Mrs Roberts said the State Government
would meet its pre-election promise —
She said ''pre-election
promise'' —
to direct all the proceeds from both
red light and speed camera to reduce the State's road toll.
Did they do it in eight years? No,
they did not. It gets worse. The member has a very short memory. I listened to
every word she said when she was interviewed on Paul Murray's program
yesterday. I was very interested —
Mrs
M.H. Roberts interjected.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I
hope she did, because I spoke the truth.
Several members interjected.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
On three occasions Paul Murray tried to pin her down and she would not answer
truthfully. In relation to money from the road trauma trust account to pay for
extra police hours to carry out road safety initiatives and road patrols, Paul
Murray asked —
Is there anything particularly
wrong with that money being used to pay for the police?
Michelle Roberts said, and I quote, ''Yeah, because it's
a con.''
Several members interjected.
Mr
R.F. JOHNSON : A con! She then went on to say —
So it was certainly suggested to
me by the Police Department from time to time who have always been rather
interested in getting their hands on the Road Safety Trust Fund money that
perhaps they could get some more overtime for officers doing road —
Safety —
patrols and arguably road safety
things and so forth, and I said well simply that's the thin edge of
the wedge,
Paul Murray then went on to say —
So let me just nail you down on
this. Are you saying that Labor would not spend Road Trauma Trust Fund money on
funding more police officers or police overtime?
Michelle Roberts said —
What I'm saying is when
I was a police minister, when that suggestion was made to me, I said I would
find that unacceptable and that I thought that the public would find it
unacceptable at that time.
Paul Murray then said, for the third
attempt to tie her down —
Let's just finish getting
one thing absolutely clear. Labor would not spend this Road Trauma Trust Fund
money on funding police officers and police overtime?
Michelle Roberts said, ''Look
we think that's wrong'', but she did not think it was wrong because—I
have got to tell you the most important bit of this, Mr Speaker—when
she was the police minister, she accepted money from the road trauma trust
account to pay for extra policing hours. In 2001–02, she accepted $388 444.
In 2002–03, she accepted $438 588 and so on and so forth. In an
election year, 2008–09, that was the budget time, she accepted $2.5 million
—
Mrs
M.H. Roberts interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Midland, I have been very patient. I have been on my feet now for
about 10 seconds and you interject. I formally call you to order for the first
time today. Minister, I expect that you did anticipate some interjections on
this. I am not asking you to respond to me—not at all. Minister, if you
are going to go on in this fashion, I think perhaps you should anticipate
further interjections. Members, when I am on my feet I do not want to hear from
anybody.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
Let me just say this: in the budget of 2008–09, which was when the
member for Midland was a minister and she put in place this system of —
Several members interjected.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
It is called, in case her memory —
Several members interjected.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
She is forgetting things! It is called the STEP program, and her other
colleagues know all about it.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
I wasn't the minister!
Mr R.F. JOHNSON :
You were in 2001 and for quite a few years, but you did not tell the truth to
Paul Murray. You would not own up to it, would you?
Point of Order
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS :
It seems that the whole of the minister's answer seems to be about me,
so I think he should be expecting interjections. You have called me to order at
one point. I understand that you have directed him to get on with his answer
and it is not what he has done. I need some kind of clarification from you, Mr
Speaker, about whether I am entitled to interject or whether you intend to call
me to order.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Midland, I am not going to tell any member in this place when I
might call them to order because there could be a whole range of different
reasons why a person gets called to order, so I am not going to give you any
particular response to that question. I am shortly going to run out of patience
with both sides of this place. I indicate to the minister that I do expect a
very short response, otherwise I am going to sit you down, minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I
will conclude now in simply saying that the member for Midland carries a lot of
baggage, but the biggest baggage she carries is a bucketload of hypocrisy!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Mandurah, I formally call you to order for the first time today.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.