GLENN STERLE
LABOR SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
CHAIR SENATE RURAL, REGIONAL AFFAIRS & TRANSPORT REFERENCES COMMITTEE
INQUIRY INTO ASPECTS OF ROAD SAFETY
This week the Senate Rural, Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee heard evidence into the Aspects of Road Safety Inquiry.
This latest round of hearings was called as a result of an alarming incident in early February where an overseas driver, in Australia on a visa granted by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, caused a major traffic incident on the M5 in Sydney when he failed to reverse his truck and detach the trailer after he was concerned the heavy haulage vehicle he was driving would not fit into the tunnel he was driving towards.
The truck had to be removed by a public servant employed by Roads and Maritime Services as the driver of the truck was not capable of doing so.
“I initially raised this matter with the committee and its secretariat as I was concerned about the exploitation of foreign workers as well as the risk to safety of Australian road users,” Committee Chair Senator Glenn Sterle said.
“What has come as a result of subsequent correspondence and evidence given at this week’s hearing shows that my concerns reach far wider than this incident alone,” said Senator Sterle.
The hearing this week took evidence from the Transport Workers Union of Australia, the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the Driver Education Centre of Australia, the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads and Scott’s Transport amongst others.
“What we found through a full day of questioning was that there are huge inconsistencies in licensing services across each state jurisdiction and in the case of Queensland, serious allegations of licence rorting where one assessor in New South Wales has been accused of granting up to 111 foreign drivers a licence that they may not be actually competent of holding,” Senator Sterle said.
“If this is happening in one state, what’s to say the same is not occurring in others?” said Senator Sterle.
“We have asked a lot of questions this week and have requested that answers be returned to the committee within two weeks. Road safety is something that I care very deeply about and my hope is that through the work of this inquiry, we can expose those who are rorting the system, stop the exploitation of the Visa system and improve road safety for Australian drivers in the long run,” said Senator Sterle.
A reporting date for this inquiry is set for the 3rd of June 2016.
