Rees Government not covering itself in glory on the NSW North Coast

There are few instances where the Nationals MP for Clarence actually does something positive for his electorate while on his feet in the NSW Legislative Assembly.
This may be one of those few.

PACIFIC HIGHWAY UPGRADE

Mr STEVE CANSDELL (Clarence) [1.51 p.m.]: Sadly, today I raise in Parliament the occurrence of another death on the Pacific Highway between Coffs Harbour and Ballina. According to Roads and Traffic Authority [RTA] figures this notorious stretch of road claimed over 52 lives between 2003 and 2006. Tragically, in the past two years more lives have been lost on that road and those fatalities have to be added to the tally. The Pacific Highway from Sydney to Tweed is roughly 850 kilometres. The notorious 200-kilometre stretch between Coffs Harbour and Ballina, about 23 per cent of the highway, is responsible for 33 per cent of the deaths. One wonders why the Roads and Traffic Authority formula for fast-tracking funding for Pacific Highway upgrading is based on traffic volume rather than fatalities. This traffic-based approach to road upgrading should be changed to ensure that the safety of lives is paramount. Following those 52 deaths between 2003 and 2006, a 79-year-old man died north of Ulmarra on an undivided highway; a 13-year-old Broadwater youth died after being struck by a north-bound utility on a single-lane highway; a 46-year-old Queensland man died at Woodburn on a single-lane highway; and last year two priests were killed on a single-lane highway. The list of deaths on this highway specifically details that all occurred on undivided or single-lane sections of the road.

I could talk all day about these horrific road toll figures. It reminds me of the Vietnam war, when the increasing number of body bags resulted in a change in government policy. Perhaps the increasing number of body bags being used in road fatalities might change this Government's policy to enable fast-tracked upgrading of the notorious section between Coffs Harbour and Ballina from a single lane to a divided double lane highway at least. The recent 2008-09 budget allocated $7 million for the section from Wells Crossing to Ballina, for road planning only. That paltry amount would not even cover insurance for one year, let alone go towards essential road improvements to save people's lives. It is time this Government accepted the simple reality that this section of the highway is dangerous.

Minister Roozendaal's announcement two years ago as Minister for Roads to fast-track the highway upgrading appeared in a newspaper article under the headline "Highway Death As Fast-Track Plan Announced". The article states, "The Minister says he will cut red tape to speed up the highway upgrade after a man was killed in a crash at Knocknow." Once again, more spin from a Government that is out of control and not addressing the realities. I urge the Government to fix the Pacific Highway problem. All the spin in the world can be thrown at the public, and everything can be covered up, but the tragic and unnecessary deaths that occur week after week on the roads are ruining families and communities. The NRMA continued its pressure on the Government when it put out a release last year highlighting the danger of this notorious section of the Pacific Highway and the need to upgrade it. Director Wendy Machin and Ernie Bennet, head of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Council [NOROC], toured the North Coast and saw the hot spots and the dangers of that highway, and they also saw the roadside crosses marking the tragic deaths of families' loved ones that increased the road toll statistics. I hope the Government remembers that. The previous Minister would not tour the highway, but I ask the current Minister for Roads to visit this region. I will take him along the highway and we will look at the crosses and inspect the dangerous bends and the lanes of undivided highway that cause these accidents. We all agree that most road accidents result from human error. Divided highways were designed to help eliminate human error, prevent loss of innocent life, and make travel safer for families and for truck drivers doing their daily jobs.

In 2003 I made a private member's statement at the request of an ambulance officer who was sick of attending tragic truck accidents every week. The following is an excerpt from what he told me. He said, "On arrival at the accident scene there was a semitrailer on fire, a section of the vegetation on the roadside was flattened." He said he walked past a lady, who was critically injured, and her husband. He walked over to another couple. The man was cradling his wife in his arms and he was covered in her blood. He was rocking backwards and forwards saying, "She was the love of my life, the love of my life." Sadly she was deceased. Let us stop the barrage of road deaths and do something about this highway urgently.

Mrs KARYN PALUZZANO (Penrith—Parliamentary Secretary) [1.57 p.m.]: I thank the member for Clarence for his contribution. He should contact the Federal member regarding funding for upgrading a Federal road. I remind him also that the standing orders require that private members' statements contain information on members' electorates. I trust the information he gave the House was pertinent to his electorate.

Reading between the lines, the Federal Member was not amused by the hamfisted response from Ms. Paluzzano and in The Daily Examiner this week reminded all that:

Ms Saffin agreed the Pacific Highway was not a federal responsibility but confirmed the Federal Government was jointly funding road work.

"The Parliamentary Secretary can be assured that Mr Cansdell has been in touch with me, his Federal Member, on the issue of the Pacific Highway, which both the State and Federal Governments contribute funding for," she said.

"I can reiterate that the Rudd Government has significantly increased the level of federal funding with a commitment of $2.45 billion for the Pacific Highway for 2009-2014, with some of that brought forward to the current financial year."