Member for Western Victoria Gayle Tierney MP today slammed the lazy, stand-for-nothing Liberal National Opposition for misleading the community with blatantly false claims about Victorian Government road safety policy.
Ms Tierney said Opposition MPs had recently distributed community surveys about young driver safety issues that incorrectly stated the Government was considering introducing night time curfews for young drivers.
“The Brumby Labor Government is committed to protecting the lives of young drivers on our roads, unlike the Opposition, which does not have any road safety policy and simply says things they think people want to hear,” she said.
“The Opposition’s claim on night curfews is totally untrue and blatant scaremongering. The Minister for Roads and Ports Tim Pallas ruled out night time curfews immediately after a road safety roundtable on 1 June, this year.
“That’s about two months since this was ruled out and yet the opposition, in a desperate move, are falsely suggesting the Government is considering such a policy.
“The Government believes night time driving restrictions would not be practical or realistic. A night time driving restriction would have too many impacts on young people’s mobility, particularly for those in rural areas.
“The Member for Polwarth, Terry Mulder should apologise to the young people and other members of the community they have misled by distributing these incorrect surveys.
“In contrast to the achievements of the Brumby Labor Government on road safety, the opposition’s only interest is in trying to use road safety to score cheap political points,” Ms Tierney said.
The new Graduated Licensing System, introduced by the Government in 2007, includes the largest changes to young driver laws since the introduction of probationary licenses in the 1960s.
There are positive results already from the GLS and the number of fatalities involving young drivers has decreased in Victoria over recent years.
In 2008, there were 10 fewer deaths among young drivers aged 18-25 years compared to 2007 and in 2009 there were 15 fewer deaths compared to 2007.