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Safety data hub a step forward in road toll fight

The federal government will invest $21 million into a crash data hub in a move that the motoring bodies say is a major step toward lowering the road toll.

The federal government will also create a provision in its funding agreement for roads infrastructure that all states provide nationally consistent data set on crashes and road safety.

The Australian Automobile Association has run its Data Saves Lives campaign, that it launched in October last year as the national road toll continued to soar, in an effort to ensure all states were supplying uniform crash and road safety data.

The campaign gained backing form the Australian Medical Association and numerous other bodies as some states suffered their worst road tolls in more than a decade in 2023 and the overall death from crashes rose at about five per cent per year.

Now the the next National Partnership Agreement on Land Transport Infrastructure Projects, which dictates how $50 billion in federal road funding is allocated to the states over the next five years will  be negotiated with the states with this condition  in mind.

Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King made the announcement in the lead up to the May budget.

“The Commonwealth will look to improve data sharing from the states through our upcoming federation funding agreement negotiations.  This is the first opportunity our government has had to act on data through these intergovernmental agreements and comes after years of inaction by the previous Coalition Government.

She says the $21 million in the National Road Safety Data Hub will have open access to decision makers and will continue the work of harmonising the important data provided by state and territories.

“A clear picture, underpinned by data, about where best to target road safety funding will save lives and ensure we are investing in the projects that will make the biggest difference.”

AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley congratulated Minister King and called on state and territory governments to follow the recent lead of the Queensland Government to commit to data transparency ahead of the finalisation of the funding deal, which is due to take effect from 1 July.

“With more than 100 people killed on Australian roads each month and the toll rising, we need data about the causes of crashes, the condition of roads and the effectiveness of traffic policing to better understand what is going wrong,’’ Mr Bradley said.

“Such data exists, but for too long it has been held by states and territories, rather than being made public and used to create more effective responses to our worsening road safety problems.

“This reform will also clip the wings of politicians who are tempted to invest scarce public money on road projects to win votes in marginal electorates, rather than projects that can save lives.’’

 

Worsening crash toll gives data campaign ‘urgency’

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