Road Safety Camera Commissioner Bill 2011
I rise to speak in the debate on the Road Safety Camera Commissioner Bill 2011. I am sure all members on both sides of the house would agree that if there is one thing we could do while in political office it would be to implement policies that would save lives. I had the privilege yesterday of attending a briefing by the Auditor-General on his report on our road safety camera program. It was horrifying to hear of the amount of trauma that is experienced on our roads every day and that there are some 4500 crashes on our public roads each year that resulted in fatality or serious injury.
Last year 288 people died on our roads in Victoria. Not only is that horrific in terms of the loss of life but also the cost to the Victorian economy was estimated at some $3.8 billion. We are looking for solutions, and we are looking for ways to improve the system. The bill before us today certainly goes a long way to doing that.
One of the things that has become apparent from the report tabled yesterday is that people are not confident in the road camera system. We need to restore their confidence in the system to ensure that people are happy with what we have and are confident in its use.
Mr Merlino interjected.
Mr Southwick -- I hear the member for Monbulk interjecting.
He made a fine contribution -- he was on his feet for about 30 minutes, and only about 2 minutes of that was on the bill! During his contribution he spoke a lot about the government's lack of a strategy. What we on this side of the house understand is that we need a strategy.
Mr Merlino interjected.
The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Thompson) -- Order! The member for Caulfield without assistance and without the use of unparliamentary language!
Mr Southwick -- Thank you, Acting Speaker. We on this side of the house understand the importance of having a strategy. A strategy is not just about spin or a photo opportunity; it is about looking at executing a plan. These sorts of strategies are important. They are about reducing the road toll, which is what we are referring to here. Members of the opposition should take a note of that.
Mr Merlino interjected.
The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Thompson) -- Order! The member for Caulfield without assistance! The member for Monbulk was heard in quieter circumstances yesterday, and I ask him to accord the same respect to the member for Caulfield.
Mr Southwick -- Thank you, Acting Speaker. I recognise that it is hard for the member for Monbulk to contain himself. But if he could do that for a moment, he might learn something about the results we have achieved since coming to government. We have already started to implement good policy when it comes to our road laws. In government members of the current opposition had a crack at the hoon laws. I say a 'crack' because it was a very small crack. They started with the 48-hour confiscation of a car, which meant that a person could lose their car on a Friday and get it back on Monday and be back driving on the streets -- --
An honourable member -- Just in time for the next weekend.
Mr Southwick -- Exactly, just in time for the next weekend. That is not really something that will reprehend the person committing the offence.
We are tough, and there will now be a 30-day confiscation of a car, and we are looking at crushing the vehicles of second offenders. Make no mistake; our laws are tough. They have to be tough because we want to send a message to the public that these sorts of offences are not acceptable.
Under this government there have been 1600 new police officers promised, we are impounding cars carrying excessive passengers, and there has been a $4.65 million safety upgrade to the Hume Highway. These are not words but actions by the government, and this bill is a further action. It provides for a road safety camera commissioner to ensure that we have a system that works, that is transparent and that the public has confidence in.
I refer also to the contribution of the member for Lara. He said we have a system that is not working and that we are not doing anything at all; we are just sitting here idle.
The last time I looked at it, the Transport Accident Commission was still working away in Geelong on many initiatives from the Labor and coalition governments. We are continuing to strengthen our road safety regime and to look at improvements.
Let us look at the appointment of the road safety camera commissioner. The commissioner will be independent of government and will be appointed by the Governor in Council. It is anticipated that the commissioner will have a strong and consultative working relationship with the Minister for Police and Emergency Services and will be free to publish whatever he or she sees fit in an annual report to Parliament. In consultation the minister will appoint a reference group which will give expert advice to the commissioner.
The government recognises that for our road safety laws to function effectively the people of Victoria must have faith and confidence in the system, and by appointing the first road safety camera commissioner we will be restoring confidence in the system and making sure that we have an independent umpire -- and I stress that we will have an independent umpire -- who can look holistically at the system and provide advice and reports on how to improve reliability.
I turn now to an Auditor-General's report that has recently been tabled in Parliament. I refer to some of the comments that are made in the report, in particular in relation to issues on the Western Ring Road back in 2003 and then later in 2010 when we saw fines being issued on the Hume Highway because of software problems in the cameras. These are the sorts of things there has been a lot of public outcry about.
I recall listening to Neil Mitchell's morning radio program on 3AW. Many listeners rang in to talk about their experiences and their problems with cameras. There is no doubt we are going to experience problems, but we need to ensure that the public has an outlet. We need to ensure that they have someone to go to if they believe the system is incorrect and does not work properly.
Turning to the Auditor-General's report specifically, section 4 deals with the accuracy and reliability of the camera system. Under 'Recommendation' it states:
To strengthen assurance, the Department of Justice should establish regular independent testing of the accuracy and reliability of speed measurement by mobile speed cameras under actual operating conditions.
Section 5 relates to the validity of infringements. The recommendations state:
The Department of Justice should get stronger assurance that mobile camera operators comply with critical procedures.
The Department of Justice should require that all certification service providers comply with appropriate quality control and documentation standards, and are subject to regular audits against these standards conducted by appropriately qualified measurement experts.
I want to come back to the key issue around the problem with the perception that the system does not work properly. Unfortunately in this instance, perception is reality. If you look at section 6 of the report, headed 'Public communications about the program', it states very clearly that:
Despite clear evidence to the contrary, there is ongoing public concern that the program is revenue-raising, inaccurate or not soundly grounded in improving road safety outcomes. The road safety partners have not adequately educated the public about many fundamental aspects of the program, including the impacts of lower-level speeding. This has placed the program's ongoing legitimacy at risk.
For 11 years under the previous government we had a so-called strategy, which the member for Monbulk referred to. Unfortunately that strategy did not work, and the Auditor-General's report states in black and white that its legitimacy is in question because the public does not believe in it. The public has lost confidence in the system. By having an independent commissioner we are about restoring confidence. I note the member for Monbulk has a big grin on his face. It is time to wipe off the grin and to restore some confidence. Let us get on with doing something, and that is what this government is doing.