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Ahead of the 3 May Federal Election, the State’s peak motoring body is calling on all parties and candidates to commit to infrastructure and safety measures to help save lives on South Australian roads and boost freight productivity.
RAA is calling for all parties and candidates to commit to:
RAA Chief Executive Officer Nick Reade said RAA, along with its federal body the Australian Automobile Association, wants road safety measures and infrastructure projects to be a top priority for all political parties ahead of the Federal Election.
“We don’t want critical road safety and infrastructure measures to take a back seat in this election campaign,” Mr Reade said.
“These measures and projects are crucial to saving lives on roads and helping South Australia reach the targets set out in SA’s 10-year Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan.
“If we’re serious about halving the number of lives lost on South Australian roads by 2031, we need the make sure our roads are safe enough to meet that target.
“Along with the AAA, we’re calling on the Federal Government to release road safety ratings to improve transparency around the funding of road and infrastructure projects.
“That would ensure taxpayers know that their money is going towards fixing the most dangerous roads.”
Mr Reade said all parties must commit to exploring a road user charge to replace the declining fuel excise to ensure there is a sustainable, long-term revenue model to fund Australian roads.
“The Federal Treasurer reportedly flagged that motoring tax reform to replace the declining fuel excise was something the government would look at if it won a second term – we’d like a public and firm commitment ahead of the election from both parties,” Mr Reade said.
“Last week’s Federal Budget shows the revenue collected from fuel excise is expected to decrease by $1.3 billion over the next three years, compared to last budget’s forecast
“We cannot afford to have a decrease in road funding and must ensure all motorists are pay their fair share for our roads.
“A road user charge that is technology neutral is the only way to ensure we have a fair and equitable system.”
Last week, RAA welcomed the Federal Budget funding of $525m for stage 1 of the Adelaide Hills Freight Bypass, $125m for the Curtis Road project and $40m to upgrade the section of Main South Road between Myponga and Yankalilla .
Along with the AAA, the RAA is supporting the My Safety Counts campaign calling for star ratings to be released and used to guide funding decisions – so we can fix our most dangerous roads, not just those that benefit the Government of the day.
For more information visit the My Safety Counts website.