RAC has welcomed funding in today’s State Budget for transport infrastructure, including to continue the rollout of the WA Regional Road Safety Program.
The State Budget has allocated $175 million in both 2023/24 and 2024/25 for the WA Regional Road Safety Program.
RAC Acting Group Executive Social and Community Impact Will Golsby said the Program was crucial to preventing thousands of people from being killed or seriously injured on WA roads.
“We welcome continued funding from the WA and Australian Governments toward regional road safety, and we look forward to expanding this focus in the years ahead to upgrade more roads and save more lives,” Mr Golsby said.
“However, our regional communities need clarity on the total number of kilometres that will be upgraded once this Program is fully funded and delivered.”
“RAC also welcomes funding to accelerate the electrification of the transport network, including $250 million to transition the public bus fleet to electric and a commitment to encouraging the uptake of lower emission vehicles through the Clean Energy Car Fund.”
RAC is concerned the closing balance of the Road Trauma Trust Account has increased in this year’s budget to $72 million, raising further questions about the unspent funds.
“Someone is killed or seriously injured on WA roads every five hours and last year our state had the worst road fatality figure in six years,” Mr Golsby said.
“Unallocated funds sitting idle in the Road Trauma Trust Account should be directed to life-saving road safety initiatives, including further investment to upgrade regional roads and Perth intersections.”
The Budget also confirmed an increase to vehicle registration fees of 3.9 per cent.
ENDS
Media contact: RAC Media Team, 0401 703 719 or media@rac.com.au
