April 18, 2024
Bob Katter, Federal Member for Kennedy has clarified his position with the *Australian Automobile Association (AAA) and has called on the Prime Minister to back their initiative to immediately release of all relevant road accident and crash data.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Katter warned the alarming suppression of vital information regarding road accidents and crash statistics, is leaving Australians in the dark about the true state of road safety.
"Many of our vital connecting roads are in an extremely poor and dangerous condition,” Mr Katter said.
“There is one bad section of the road between Almaden and Chillagoe which actually resulted in a Queensland Ambulance four-wheel-drive becoming stuck in a huge ditch – but none of this data is released to the public and if it were, those roads would probably be fixed by now.
“For years we have been fighting for better infrastructure throughout Kennedy. To report that we have a position that does not strenuously advocate for better roads in Kennedy is frankly untrue and demonstrates a very poor lack of judgement, and smacks of what could be perceived as political journalism.
“We would challenge anybody who states that the critical state of Kennedy roads, particularly the key coastal connector – the Bruce Highway, is not a high priority.
“It took us three years and five deaths to get the Feluga intersection fixed on the Bruce Highway and on the Kuranda Range we are seeing the most colossal example of incompetence with trucks continuously rolling over.
“And we’ve also got Gairloch in Ingham which has been approved to be fixed, but work won’t start until the feds give the final scribble!”
Mr Katter said that road safety wasn’t just a matter of concern; it was a matter of life and death for millions of Australians, particularly in regional and rural Australia.
But despite the Federal Government pumping billions into road funding each year, critical data remains locked away, hindering efforts to save lives and prevent tragedies.