TRANSCRIPT: Interview with Neil Mitchell, 3AW Mornings, 31 May 2019
E&OE
Subjects: Road Toll; Road Safety Office; Road Safety Funding.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay, we’ve got a crisis here in Victoria. Our road toll is 57 per cent up on last year; it is 138. New South Wales last time I looked was 10 per cent up. Victoria is leading this disaster for some reason. So a summit was called a month ago, it’s finally on today, it’s on this afternoon. We’ve got 100 people a month nationally dying on the roads. On the line is the man with national responsibility for road safety – Deputy Prime Minister Mr Michael McCormack, good morning.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Good morning Neil.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Thank you for speaking with us. Hey, why weren’t you invited today? Do you know?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Oh, I’m not sure Neil, but I'm doing things in Sydney as far as road safety is concerned. In fact, I'm addressing an important roads conference here. But yes, you're right - the statistics are very sobering and people really should take stock when they're getting behind the wheel of a car, indeed, even if they’re a passenger in a car.
NEIL MITCHELL:
One thing simply the Federal Government could do here – well, there’s a couple of things – but we’ve got on the road a Jeep Wrangler which has a one-star safety rating because of body structure failures. People could be driving around in these things and they are potentially more dangerous than other cars. Why not stop them coming in?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Yes, well we do make sure that cars that are being imported are having Australian specifications and Australian standards.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well this one's got one star, the Jeep Wrangler. Why is it getting into the country?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
It passes all the tests as far as our minimum standards are required too. But again, I say it’s also driver distraction. It's drinking, it's driving with substances, seatbelts.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well that’s true. That’s very true. But do we need to revise our standards if we can have a one-star car acceptable on this road? It's got a 50 per cent score for adult occupation protection.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Yes they're always under review and they are constantly being reviewed, and we can certainly take that up. We've got a Road Safety Office as part of the Budget. We've now got a Road Safety Minister in the Ministry, all part of the latest reshuffle.
NEIL MITCHELL:
The other area - car tariffs. I mean, you bung a tariff on these luxury cars that come in. The newer the fleet, the better the fleet, the greater the safety. Why do we still have tariffs?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well it's part of the mix that we have as far as tariffs are concerned, and that's part and parcel of what the Government…
NEIL MITCHELL:
…But the tariffs are protecting an industry that doesn't exist.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Indeed, but it also protects local businesses which are still providing their goods and parts for cars which are made elsewhere. That is part and parcel of what we do.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Could we review the tariffs because if you don't have tariffs, you've got cheaper cars which are safer cars, and you reduce the age of the fleet and people are safer.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Oh indeed, and we're always looking at those sorts of things; they're always under review. But the fact is we've also got a report coming on the 2011-2020 zero road toll vision that we commissioned. And we've got a Road Safety Minister there in Scott Buchholz; we've put $2.2 billion boost to road safety in the Budget just in April. We're committing to road safety Black Spots, Roads to Recovery funding, and of course, the cars are getting better Neil.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well yes but we can afford more of them if you didn't have $5 billion worth of taxes on them.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Indeed, but we also have to run a strong economy and when you run a strong economy you can put more money into things like that. You can lower those sorts of tariffs, you can make sure that you have better roads, particularly regional roads. Far too often, regional people are overrepresented in the statistics.
NEIL MITCHELL:
That's very true. Now you mentioned the road toll strategy. A report in September last year - the co-authors Professor Jeremy Woolley and Dr John Crozier say you've done nothing since.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Oh no, we have and…
NEIL MITCHELL:
…They’re very critical, aren’t they? They're very critical.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well they're also committed and passionate to making sure, as we all are, as you are, as I am and everybody else, even the summit there today - we're all committed to making sure that there are zero deaths on the road. That's why Fatality Free Friday is so important. That's why Russell White founded this day 14 years ago. Sadly, soberingly, we haven't had a fatality free Friday on this particular significant day in its history.
NEIL MITCHELL:
All these thing are a good idea, but isn’t that evidence that these things don't work. I mean, look, I'm all for having a go at anything - campaigns and ads and everything else. But the point is they’re not working. Victoria has got a record 14-year high road toll. Why?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Yes. Well, driver distraction is a terrible thing, Neil, as you know. You drive 100 kilometres an hour, you take your concentration off the road for a matter of two seconds to glance at your mobile phone, you travel 55 metres. And I think people need to wake up and need to stop using their mobile phones and need to obey the road rules. It starts with…
NEIL MITCHELL:
…So are people in New South Wales different? Why is New South Wales only 10 per cent up and we’re 50 per cent up. What's the difference?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Oh sometimes you have a spate of really, really bad accidents - there was a terrible one in Queensland the other day where a whole family was wiped out. Sometimes you just have a run of those. It's awful.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But that hasn't happened. These are mostly single or double fatalities in Victoria. We have got a 50 per cent increase.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
And indeed you could look at them and argue is driver distraction an epidemic that is just getting out of hand.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But why is it not happening in New South Wales?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I don't know that Neil.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well isn't that part of the key? Doesn't somebody have to sit down and say - is New South Wales doing something different?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
The road funding is fair and equitable across all the States. The States feed into that. I think today's summit in Victoria may well come up with some of the answers and I'll certainly be happy to talk to Jacinta Allan and others about what the findings from today are.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Have you spoken to our Road Safety Minister yet?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I speak to Ministers all the time and Jacinta Allan and I speak regularly.
NEIL MITCHELL:
No, no, no. She's not the Minister.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
No I haven't, not as yet. Not since being sworn in again just the other day.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay, fair enough. This report to you in 2017 when the authors are saying nothing’s been done, that recommended a $3 billion a year road safety fund. Is that happening?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well we've got $2.2 billion and we’ve got a Minister which is one of the 12 recommendations.
NEIL MITCHELL:
$2.2 billion a year?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
It’s a $2.2 billion boost in road safety funding to save lives on our roads.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Over how long?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
That’s a record commitment. Well it was in the Budget over a number of…
NEIL MITCHELL:
…Four years.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Four years.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Yes. Well see, they recommended $3 billion a year.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well the road investment funding that we're providing is at record amounts. And again, it does come down to personal responsibility. People have to do the right thing when they're behind the wheel of a car and if they're a passenger in a car, need to tell the drivers to slow down or stop using their mobile phone.
NEIL MITCHELL:
How much is the problem of trucks? I know trucks are big part of your responsibility.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
They are, but in 90 per cent of the accidents or close to 90 per cent that involves a heavy vehicle, it's usually not the heavy vehicle driver’s fault. I think heavy vehicle drivers get a bad rap when it comes to these sorts of accidents, quite often, because of the size of the vehicle and the scope of the accident - they're quite horrific. But in most cases, almost all cases, it's not the truck driver’s fault. People also have to take heed when there is a truck, if they are overtaking, to give it room, or if the truck is turning just be patient for goodness’ sake.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay. And the new Road Safety Office, has it started work yet?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Scott Buchholz, absolutely, started work the very first day.
NEIL MITCHELL:
No, no, no. The office – didn’t you announce an office in March?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Oh the office – yes, yes, absolutely it has and it’s doing a lot good things as far as identifying black spots is concerned, as far as getting together new campaigns. The new TAC campaign with driving blind is very good and I’d urge people to look at it. I’ll also urge people to take the pledge – the choose road safety pledge for Fatality Free Friday. It's an important thing. Let's see if we can make today fatality free.