South Eastern Freeway

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning, Minister Assisting the Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:14): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Today, I am tabling the state government's response to the recommendations made by the Deputy State Coroner in the inquest into the death of Mr James William Venning on the South Eastern Freeway. Members may recall that Mr Venning died in a horrific accident involving his out-of-control truck descending on the freeway on 18 January 2014. Members may further recall that there have been a number of incidents involving heavy vehicles on the freeway, including another fatal accident on 18 August 2014.

Since then, and with the support of stakeholders and industry representatives, the government has moved to improve safety on the road and has pursued reform of the national heavy vehicle industry to improve safety throughout the country. Today, I can advise the house that in the government's response to the Deputy Coroner's recommendations, penalties for speeding in a heavy vehicle on the South Eastern Freeway and also for disobeying Australian Road Rule 108—which requires the driver to drive a truck or a bus in a gear that is low enough to limit the speed of the vehicle without the use of a primary brake on a descent—will be substantially increased.

The government will also draft laws where speeding above 70 km/h on the South Eastern Freeway descent by a heavy-vehicle driver will be deemed evidence of dangerous driving. I can also advise the house that the government will be working with the industry to begin designing a state-based periodic inspection regime for trucks. This is a significant deficiency of our industry and our state where a truck can go through its operational life without ever being independently inspected. This is unacceptable to this government.

The government will also be continuing to improve heavy-vehicle driver training in line with the Coroner's recommendations, continuing to educate heavy-vehicle drivers and the industry of the nature of the descent on the South Eastern Freeway and the requirement to adhere to Australian Road Rule 108. The government has also been leading national reform efforts, along with New South Wales roads minister, Duncan Gay, on the development of a national roadworthiness regime and the extension of chain of responsibility laws to roadworthiness in the heavy vehicle industry.

I should be clear that there are recommendations which the government is not supporting. After detailed traffic modelling and analysis, the government will not be further reducing speed limits for both heavy and light vehicles on the South Eastern Freeway descent. Doing so could cause significant congestion and even block access to the lower safety ramp during peak traffic periods.

Further, we will not be implementing the recommendations that it be compulsory for all heavy-vehicle drivers to be accompanied by a trained and experienced truck driver on their first descent of the South Eastern Freeway. In a national freight industry, this measure would be impractical. In any event, current national driver training requirements include the requirement for a driver to successfully demonstrate the ability to descend downhill gradients safely.

The government will also not be implementing the recommendation that no heavy vehicle licence be issued without the driver demonstrating competence in the descent of the South Eastern Freeway, and for the same reason. However, this should not detract from the substantial improvements we have made to road signage, to driver education and training, to promoting the requirement to comply with Australian Road Rule 108 and how to access safety ramps, on meeting the cost of removing heavy vehicles from safety ramps, and leading national raw reform to improve heavy-vehicle roadworthiness and safety across the nation.

I would like to place on the record my appreciation of the South Australian Road Transport Association and the Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of South Australia for their assistance and their dedication in improving safety in the industry.