Country Road Fatalities

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (16:09): For most of us, the Christmas/New Year period is a time of celebration, a time when family members and friends gather, and a time when we look to the coming year with refreshed hope. For some families in our northern communities, all that good cheer and hope for the new year was shattered, torn apart, by a spate of fatal crashes on our country roads.

On the Lincoln Highway between Port Augusta, Whyalla, and Cowell, seven people died and a number were seriously injured over a 27-day period. There had been no fatalities on that stretch of road for the previous 10 years. All the people killed were from regional South Australia. All lived in Whyalla or Port Pirie, with the exception of one young man who had moved to Adelaide to study and work. This senseless loss of life is deeply felt in our communities. Those lives are not statistics. They were sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mums and dads.

On 29 December two young people, Natasha Turnbull and James Moore, had their lives cut short. Their friends, Amy Jones and Jason Bristow, were injured. The driver of the vehicle that caused the fatalities survived, and is now facing manslaughter charges as result of his alleged suicide attempt. On 22 January Michael, Leigh and James Camporeale died following a head-on collision outside Whyalla. The father and two sons had been working in Whyalla and were returning to Port Pirie. It looks like fatigue might have played a role in the accident. Two days later a Whyalla couple, Jan and Peter Ashby, died outside of Cowell after their car was hit by a truck. Charges have been laid, and it looks like fatigue might have been a contributing factor in that accident as well.

As a community Whyalla was shocked by so many deaths in such a short period of time. The deaths added impetus to the call for overtaking lanes, even though the presence of overtaking lanes would not have made a difference. The stretch of road, over previous years, had not met blackspot criteria, and there are roads and other parts of the state and in the electorate of Giles with a pattern of ongoing fatalities and serious injury. I will always advocate spending money where it will do the greatest good when it comes to reducing road fatalities, and allocating the money on the basis of clear evidence-based priorities.

Statistics from 2013 indicate that South Australian rural roads accounted for 16 per cent of all crashes with a staggering 54 per cent of fatal crashes, going up to 67 per cent in 2014. Speed is a contributing factor but not necessarily the cause. I am not convinced that reducing the speed limit from 110 to 100 on our main country roads will do much to reduce fatalities.

It is worth noting that in the 2013 compilation of South Australian accident statistics 63 per cent of fatal crashes were single vehicle crashes, and of that 63 per cent 56 per cent occurred in rural areas. We need to keep investing in our road infrastructure to improve safety, but we also need to invest in changing attitudes when behind the wheel, and that is often the hardest one. Infrastructure investment is a lot easier.

All the lives lost on our roads will be remembered by their families and friends. The family and friends of James Moore have set up a memorial scholarship to honour his passion and dedication for his chosen field of palaeontology. The James Moore Memorial Scholarship in Palaeontology will offer a funded opportunity for regional young people to participate in palaeontology expeditions as well as additional work experience. I encourage all members, especially country members, to make a contribution to the scholarship.

I offer my condolences to all those who have suffered due to lives cut short on our roads. As a dad, my heart goes out especially to parents who have lost sons and daughters.