❓ Question regarding the allocation of $146 million from the Road Trauma Trust Account for 2016-17 to improve road safety in Western Australia. The Minister details specific spending initiatives, including speed cameras, school zone signage, intersection improvements, and regional road upgrades.
AnsweredQoN 292Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ROAD
TRAUMA TRUST ACCOUNT — BUDGET ALLOCATION
292. Ms L. METTAM to the
Minister for Road Safety:
Can the minister advise the house how the record $146 million
allocation from the road trauma trust account for 2016–17 will be spent
to help keep the community safe on WA roads?
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Collie–Preston.
TRAUMA TRUST ACCOUNT — BUDGET ALLOCATION
292. Ms L. METTAM to the
Minister for Road Safety:
Can the minister advise the house how the record $146 million
allocation from the road trauma trust account for 2016–17 will be spent
to help keep the community safe on WA roads?
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Collie–Preston.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Vasse for this very important question
on road safety.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Collie–Preston, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : I
am very pleased to announce that this year we have a record spend from the road
trauma trust account towards road safety initiatives in Western Australia.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Albany, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
There is $146 million; that is 25 per cent more than the 2015–16 budget
allocation, which was a record in its own right and 800 per cent higher than
the last allocation under the Labor administration in 2008–09—800
per cent more. In its last year in government, Labor allocated $24.3 million
for road safety initiatives.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
The fatality rate, since we came to government —
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
The fatality rate per 100 000 since we came to government has decreased by 34 per
cent; that is a 34 per cent reduction since 2008. It was rising under the watch
of some of those opposite. I thank the member for Vasse for this question.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
Where will this money be spent? There will be $5.5 million spent on roadside
drug and alcohol testing and $37 million will go to addressing inappropriate
and excessive speed crashes. That will be spent on things like a $7 million
program for the expansion of speed cameras—an achievement I am very
proud of. It is very difficult sometimes to get an expansion to the speed
camera fleet, but with the concurrence of my colleagues in cabinet, we are
expanding that fleet because we know that speed cameras drive down the speed of
motorists and result in fewer crashes, and certainly fewer fatal and serious
injury crashes. There will be $7 million to go towards replacing the existing
speed camera fleet and $12 million will go into our electronic school zone
signage. That is a very important initiative. Every school in the state will
have a flashing 40‑kilometre-per-hour speed zone sign to make sure that
motorists drive safely in the vicinity of our kids.
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : Mr Speaker, $20 million will be spent on addressing
metropolitan intersection crashes. People navigating their way around the
metropolitan area know that right-angle crashes are a problem in metropolitan
Perth, and some of that money will be spent on various initiatives. Some of it
will go into changing traffic signals and some of it will go into dedicated
turning lanes. We may implement roundabouts at certain problematic intersections—we
tend to have lower crash rates at roundabouts as opposed to those at red-light
cameras—and there will be some cyclist and pedestrian improvements at
some of those problem intersections where there have been crashes. One thing I am
very pleased with is a $65 million program to address run-off road crashes in
regional areas. Some of that money has been allocated as a result of the
wheatbelt highway safety review as follows: $2.8 million on Toodyay Road; $5 million
on Great Eastern Highway and Great Southern Highway, which were specifically
targeted as part of the wheatbelt highway safety review; and $6.13 million to
put in dedicated overtaking lanes on Albany Highway. Audible edge lining will
be installed on some sections of road, and we will seal the shoulders.
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : We will put flexible roadside barriers on areas where there
are run-off road crashes, and there will be overtaking lanes. All these
initiatives are to try to prevent run-off road crashes —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany, I call you to order for the second time.
Minister, wind it up, please.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : These initiatives are to try to prevent run-off road crashes
and prevent people from impacting with objects. We know that if we put these
initiatives in place, we can drive down the number of crashes by 40 per cent. I
am really proud of this government's achievement in road safety. In a very
difficult budget environment, we have a record spend from the road trauma trust
account. To hear the criticism of those people opposite when we are the ones
who funded the Collie Coalfields highway improvement —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : We are funding the overtaking lanes on Albany Highway. We know
where the road safety improvements need to be made and we are spending record
amounts to achieve them.
on road safety.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Collie–Preston, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : I
am very pleased to announce that this year we have a record spend from the road
trauma trust account towards road safety initiatives in Western Australia.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Albany, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
There is $146 million; that is 25 per cent more than the 2015–16 budget
allocation, which was a record in its own right and 800 per cent higher than
the last allocation under the Labor administration in 2008–09—800
per cent more. In its last year in government, Labor allocated $24.3 million
for road safety initiatives.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
The fatality rate, since we came to government —
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
The fatality rate per 100 000 since we came to government has decreased by 34 per
cent; that is a 34 per cent reduction since 2008. It was rising under the watch
of some of those opposite. I thank the member for Vasse for this question.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
Where will this money be spent? There will be $5.5 million spent on roadside
drug and alcohol testing and $37 million will go to addressing inappropriate
and excessive speed crashes. That will be spent on things like a $7 million
program for the expansion of speed cameras—an achievement I am very
proud of. It is very difficult sometimes to get an expansion to the speed
camera fleet, but with the concurrence of my colleagues in cabinet, we are
expanding that fleet because we know that speed cameras drive down the speed of
motorists and result in fewer crashes, and certainly fewer fatal and serious
injury crashes. There will be $7 million to go towards replacing the existing
speed camera fleet and $12 million will go into our electronic school zone
signage. That is a very important initiative. Every school in the state will
have a flashing 40‑kilometre-per-hour speed zone sign to make sure that
motorists drive safely in the vicinity of our kids.
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : Mr Speaker, $20 million will be spent on addressing
metropolitan intersection crashes. People navigating their way around the
metropolitan area know that right-angle crashes are a problem in metropolitan
Perth, and some of that money will be spent on various initiatives. Some of it
will go into changing traffic signals and some of it will go into dedicated
turning lanes. We may implement roundabouts at certain problematic intersections—we
tend to have lower crash rates at roundabouts as opposed to those at red-light
cameras—and there will be some cyclist and pedestrian improvements at
some of those problem intersections where there have been crashes. One thing I am
very pleased with is a $65 million program to address run-off road crashes in
regional areas. Some of that money has been allocated as a result of the
wheatbelt highway safety review as follows: $2.8 million on Toodyay Road; $5 million
on Great Eastern Highway and Great Southern Highway, which were specifically
targeted as part of the wheatbelt highway safety review; and $6.13 million to
put in dedicated overtaking lanes on Albany Highway. Audible edge lining will
be installed on some sections of road, and we will seal the shoulders.
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : We will put flexible roadside barriers on areas where there
are run-off road crashes, and there will be overtaking lanes. All these
initiatives are to try to prevent run-off road crashes —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany, I call you to order for the second time.
Minister, wind it up, please.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : These initiatives are to try to prevent run-off road crashes
and prevent people from impacting with objects. We know that if we put these
initiatives in place, we can drive down the number of crashes by 40 per cent. I
am really proud of this government's achievement in road safety. In a very
difficult budget environment, we have a record spend from the road trauma trust
account. To hear the criticism of those people opposite when we are the ones
who funded the Collie Coalfields highway improvement —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : We are funding the overtaking lanes on Albany Highway. We know
where the road safety improvements need to be made and we are spending record
amounts to achieve them.
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