Marginalising Those Who Don't Drive Cars

In yet another example of the Liberals' approach to transport and road safety (following hot on the heels of Tony Abbott's statement that the Federal Government should 'stick to its knitting' and only fund road projects), we have the WA Government cutting $170,000 a year that gave pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities a voice, through the RAC, at the Road Safety Council.

Minister for Road Safety, Lisa Harvey, just doesn't get - but then most of her ministerial colleagues don't get process, either. The Office of Road Safety's 'work[ing] with vulnerable road user stakeholders' is not the same as their having a seat at the table where decisions are made. All credit to the RAC for taking on this role and I hope it will continue to do so, but it won't have the resources, now, to do it as well as it has done.

And while we're on the subject of funding, can Troy Buswell, as Minister for Transport and Treasurer, explain why Budget funding for bicycle infrastructure is a mere $35 million over the next four years (more than half of which was carried over from last year, anyway), when the Government's own draft WA Bicycle Network (when are we going to see the final of that, incidentally - the draft was released in March 2012 and comment closed in June 2012 - that's 15 months ago) requires that amount every year for the next decade.