[Peetwo]

Just ask the Minister -

From reviewing parts of the elongated STD - Surface Transport Division - I get the distinct impression miniscule Chester is just as useless and inept, not to mention totally insincere, on his supposedly pet subject of roads and road safety...

Extracts from the STD:

Senator GALLACHER: Why don't you as the department get out in front?

Ms Zielke : In the US they have had their companies sign up to a process. As you said, they're not all following the same standard. They are doing it on a voluntary basis. And that's the same as we find—

Senator GALLACHER: Because they were threatened with legislation. They were threatened with regulatory change. Accepting that the regulatory change takes a long while, that regulatory change was put on the industry. (Hmm - why does that sound so familiar ) They then came up with a voluntary date and they came up with competitive pressures in which Toyota has hit the lead by saying all their vehicles will have AEB in 2017. But we don't see any evidence of that leadership in this area from your department in Australia. I struggle to understand why, because no-one wants to see 1,300 people killed and enormous numbers of people seriously injured, let alone the $30 billion plus cost to the economy of road safety. I think this is a really urgent and important issue, but it seems to get avoided. You have 12 people in the whole department looking in this direction? For a $30 billion cost to the economy? For 1,300-plus deaths and enormous numbers of seriously injured? Thirteen people, or 12 people, is the evidence. I really can't be critical of anybody in there because there are not enough of you to make a difference. I just want to know why.

Senator STERLE: You should ask the Minister.

---

Senator GALLACHER: I want to revisit road safety, and I'm just trying to do some fact finding here; there's no right or wrong in all of this. The National Road Safety Strategy 2011 to 2020 targets a reduction of 30 per cent in both fatalities and serious injuries. It's easy to count the deaths. How close are we to being able to measure serious injuries at a national level using a nationally consistent definition of serious injury, given that 2017 is all but gone?

Ms Zielke : I'll pass to Mr James to respond to that.

Mr James : As you mentioned, it's been—

Senator GALLACHER: I don't need a recap; I just need to know when we're going to get a nationally consistent measuring stick.

Mr James : Currently there is a pilot project with the states and territories, a national project led by the department, and it is close to finishing its report.

Senator GALLACHER: This year?

Mr James : Yes, in time hopefully for the ministers' meeting in November. And then if that pilot shows it is possible to use a single definition and to match the data properly between health and crash sources it would then proceed to do the full matching and a retrospective cast for 10 years next year.

Senator GALLACHER: So, we anticipate that in 2018 we will have a nationally consistent definition of serious injury, which is seven years after we started.

Mr James : That is the aim.

Senator GALLACHER: Thank you. Now, in 2017 the minister announced that two pieces of research would be undertaken—one to look at drug driving and one to look at distracted driving. I understand that the research has been completed. When do we expect the results to be released?

Mr James : Soon. Ministers will consider those reports at a road safety ministers meeting on 9 November, followed by the ministerial council meeting on the 10th.

Senator GALLACHER: And a question on notice: can you provide a history, since the disbanding of the former Federal Office of Road Safety, which I think was in 1999, of resourcing from around 1998 to today? I want to see a trajectory of how many people used to be there and how many people there are now, on notice.

Ms Zielke : I'm happy to take it on our best endeavours in that regard.

Senator GALLACHER: Best endeavours is fine by me.

Ms Zielke : But we'll do whatever we can in relation to that.

Senator GALLACHER: What level of funding do you currently provide to the Australasian New Car Assessment Program?

Ms Zielke : It's somewhere in the order of $1 million a year. I will confirm that for you, though.

Senator GALLACHER: Is that funding guaranteed through the forward estimates?

Ms Zielke : I think the current arrangement is that the current contract expires next year and will be reconsidered again at that stage. But it's been funded for many, many years since it was started.

Senator GALLACHER: But your evidence here tonight is that it's the pre-eminent mechanism for consumers to make a judgement about road safety.

Ms Zielke : About the safety of a vehicle.

Senator GALLACHER: Okay. Are you aware that they conducted a test very recently of an 11-year-old Toyota versus a new Toyota in a head-on collision? Are you aware of the results of that test?

Ms Zielke : Yes. It clearly showed how much our standards have improved over the years. I'm sure you've seen the photographs as well, and watched the footage. It was extremely confronting to see the difference in the standards.

Senator GALLACHER: And are you aware that the vehicle that was used in the test—the 11-year-old vehicle—was being marketed by the retailer or motor vehicle reseller as a car suitable for a young driver?

Ms Zielke : This is one of the issues Minister Chester has particularly—

Senator GALLACHER: But are you aware of that?

Ms Zielke : Yes.

Senator GALLACHER: So, we know that 11-year-old vehicles are not as good as today's vehicles. Everybody gets that. But those 11-year-old vehicles are being marketed to the most vulnerable road users as a good car for a young driver. And we know from the result of that test that the young driver will be dead and the person in the other vehicle will have survived.

Ms Zielke : Have you seen the work being done on the used car safety ratings and the alignment with the ANCAP safety ratings as well?

Senator GALLACHER: With $1 million worth of federal funding you're trying to crack a nut that's costing the economy $32 billion, killing 1,300 people and injuring an unquantified number of people in serious injuries. That's the sum total of the federal department's $1 million, plus 12 people battling the world in another section.

CHAIR: I think it's hard for the witness to respond to these things.

Senator GALLACHER: I'm pretty sure it is!

CHAIR: Well, so—

Senator GALLACHER: But is the funding of $1 million guaranteed over the forward estimates?

CHAIR: I understand that, but he needs to draw it out in questions.

Ms Zielke : It will be reconsidered by government at the end of the contract.

Senator GALLACHER: Okay. Given that there are a number of really professional, well-regarded research groups in the community—two would be the Australian College of Road Safety and the other would be AAA—both of those entities have published comprehensive reports and suggestions for improving road safety, many of which are simple and non-regulatory and could be introduced without waiting for the current review of the NRSS. Has there been any government response to these recommendations? Do you, as a department—did you receive the AAA—

Ms Zielke : We did, and there have been exchanges between the department and the organisations, and they've of course written to the minister as well.

Senator GALLACHER: So, is there an official response? The Australian Automobile Association presented me with a copy of their proposals. It's been presented to the department and the minister. Is there an official response? Do you pick the low-hanging fruit—things that could be introduced simply without regulatory impact? Do you do that sort of stuff?

Mr James : Of course we look at these submissions and we provide advice on them, and a number of the ideas—many of them in those submissions—are certainly being considered by the states and federal government in the context of developing the next national road safety strategy action plan. That's a process obviously of negotiating what everyone can commit to for that exercise.

Senator GALLACHER: Does the department, having concluded a research program on distracted driving, facilitate or encourage field trials or tests of devices that would limit access to text and emails while driving in the Commonwealth fleet?

Ms Zielke : Not that I'm aware of, but suggestions such as that in all vehicles is part of what's canvassed in the report Mr James was talking about.

Mr James : And certainly work I'm aware of with the states and territories—again, there is some active research that's being done on these types of technologies and work between us all on what might be the most promising ones going forward. But that's work in progress at the moment. 

Senator GALLACHER: So, work related to road safety is a really significant issue for all organisations that employ people in Australia. You see many of the leaders in mining introducing really smart, up-front policies and procedures to limit distraction in vehicles. Does the federal government have a policy position in respect of this? I mean, can I get a job with the Commonwealth and go out in a Commonwealth car and happily text and email all the way to wherever I'm going? Or do you have a policy position that says you don't do that?

Ms Zielke : It's currently illegal to do that. So, if I was driving a Commonwealth vehicle and was doing that I would be acting illegally.

Senator GALLACHER: Yes. So, you're relying on the police; you're not switching it off in the vehicle.

Ms Zielke : We're not undertaking additional activities at the moment.

Senator GALLACHER: Why not?

Ms Zielke : Minister Chester is working with his state and territory colleagues at the moment to investigate what more could be done in relation to distraction. Part of that is talking with manufacturers about what other technologies might be used in vehicles.

Mr James : I would add that there is also the National Road Safety Partnership Program. This involves a number of mining companies and other firms interested in road safety and a number of states and other organisations to look at how to get road safety into fleet practices, corporate practices and business. I met with that group a couple of weeks ago in Perth.

Senator GALLACHER: So I could deduce from your answer that you don't actually have a policy in place about what people should and shouldn't do when they are driving a motor vehicle. Ms Zielke, you say, 'They should have known it's illegal and the police will catch them if they do it.' Is that the answer?

Ms Zielke : I was just stating the obvious—that it is an illegal activity at the moment.

Senator GALLACHER: We know that thousands of people are fined every day. We do know that people break the rules. So I'm asking whether your department has a policy on texting and emailing in a Commonwealth car.

Ms Zielke : Our department does not have a policy in addition to the current fact that it's illegal to do that.

Senator GALLACHER: Okay.

MTF...P2