The Albanese Labor Government is asleep at the wheel when it comes to consolidating national road toll data – a move that could save lives.
Latest figures show deaths on Australian roads for the month of February 2024 were 15 per cent higher than the average for the same period over the last five years.
In all, 110 Australians lost their lives on our roads last month.
Victoria’s road toll is up almost 12 per cent compared to the same time last year while New South Wales has increased a staggering 39.7 per cent and 30 per cent in South Australia.
The February figures follow the deadliest six months on Australian roads in more than a decade with 681 deaths in the second half of 2023.
Senator for Victoria, Sarah Henderson, said the numbers are a grim reminder of a continued failure to meet National Road Safety Strategy targets.
“The unfortunate reality for far too many Victorian families is that the road toll has been rising steadily for the past 18 months while the Albanese Government has cut funding from road infrastructure programs and failed to deliver the road trauma data sharing outcomes promised,” Senator Henderson said.
“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 and the coalition stands with the Australian Automobile Association in calling on the federal government to compel state and territory governments to share road trauma data as a condition of the annual $10 billion in road funding.”
Current data collected by states and territories is not coordinated nationally and lacks details in many key areas such as serious injury.
“While each life lost or those seriously injured is so much more than just a number the statistics are vitally important as this data should be informing the path forward for policymakers to prevent future road trauma,” Senator Henderson said.
“Labor’s failure to facilitate the timely, consistent, and open reporting of national road safety data after almost two years in government is preventing Australia from quantifying its road safety problem, developing evidence-based responses, or evaluating their effectiveness.”
“Labor is kicking the can down the road and failing Victorians on road safety,” Senator Henderson said.