Page 2198 - Week 06 - Friday, 27 June 2008
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
only half the road needed—half the road, twice the time to get it completed and more than double the price.
We still have traffic jams, certainly during peak-hour traffic, about the Belconnen Way area. We still have very significant traffic jams. If there had been at least a significant cut to those traffic jams in peak hours, we would probably be a little less churlish. And there we go.
We note the omission of any funding for the expected introduction of roadside drug testing to bring the ACT in line with every other jurisdiction in Australia. While the minister responsible for this area is considering the precious feelings of those who might take drugs and is wringing his hands about the human rights of those who might take drugs and what that might mean to them, ACT Policing is probably very anxious about how the hell it is going to implement this scheme without dedicated funds. There are no dedicated funds.
But again we see a government which is far more concerned about the rights of those who might, by chance, have illegal drugs in their system versus the rights of the other 90 per cent of law-abiding Canberrans who do not drive with drugs in their system but who are at risk from those drivers.
Dr Foskey: You said “by chance”.
MR PRATT: Dr Foskey, I am sure that you are sympathetic with the families of the three or four well-known cases of people who have died in the last 18 months as a direct result of drug-affected drivers. I talk about a T-bar collision which killed an old lady; I talk about a pedestrian in Garema Place; and I talk about an innocent passenger, now in a court case, well known, highlighted in the last six weeks. All the drivers involved were driving with amphetamines in their systems.
Dr Foskey: I do not think that you have—
MR PRATT: If you want to have a look at the facts, Dr Foskey, you will see that, right across this country, studies which have been undertaken of drivers who have died have found that between 30 and 45 per cent—
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mrs Dunne): Mr Pratt, if you would address the chair. Dr Foskey, cease interjecting. You will have an opportunity to speak.
MR PRATT: Indeed, Madam Assistant Speaker. Studies indicate that between 25 and 45 per cent, depending on which jurisdiction you are looking at, of drivers who died in road accidents had drugs in their systems. So we need to do something about protecting drivers from themselves. More importantly, we also need to look after those people who are killed by people who drive recklessly with drugs in their systems. And this government cannot get anywhere near seeing the sense in that, which is a great shame.
I want to talk about green lanes. I see, with the cycle lanes, again the government panders like they are to the civil libertarians in terms of the problems of drug driving, to the cycle lobby and we see this muddle-headed approach to green lanes.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .