1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,360
Speaker 1: So we know that the aa INT is backing calls

2
00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,080
Speaker 1: for road funding to be driven by data and new

3
00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,080
Speaker 1: joint funding arrangements that will result in the Northern Territory

4
00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:13,600
Speaker 1: government reporting on road quality and safety performance in order

5
00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:15,160
Speaker 1: to receive federal funding.

6
00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,160
Speaker 2: Now joining me on the line to explain.

7
00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,640
Speaker 1: This in more detail is the CEO of the aa NT.

8
00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,720
Speaker 2: Simon Mattis. Good morning to you, Simon.

9
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,400
Speaker 1: I've pronounced your surname wrong again.

10
00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:27,440
Speaker 2: Good morning mate.

11
00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,760
Speaker 3: One of these days, Katie, you're going to get it right.

12
00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:32,639
Speaker 3: I'm going to come in and give you lessons.

13
00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:34,240
Speaker 2: I think I'll need them.

14
00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,600
Speaker 1: Now, Simon, talk me through these changes that you're pushing

15
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,480
Speaker 1: for when it comes to road funding in the Northern Territory.

16
00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,280
Speaker 3: So, Katy. In twenty twenty one, all all state and

17
00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:50,520
Speaker 3: territory governments in Australia signed up to the National Road

18
00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,880
Speaker 3: Safety Strategy, which was a ten year strategy from twenty

19
00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:59,120
Speaker 3: twenty one to twenty thirty and the key aim of

20
00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,160
Speaker 3: the strategy was half the number of people killed on

21
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,479
Speaker 3: Australian roads by twenty thirty. So the national road toll

22
00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,240
Speaker 3: in twenty thirty is to be half of what it

23
00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,800
Speaker 3: was in twenty twenty one, or at least that's the goal,

24
00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,280
Speaker 3: but in actual fact that the national road toll now

25
00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,880
Speaker 3: is thirteen percent higher than when the strategy was released,

26
00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,720
Speaker 3: so the strategy clearly isn't working. So this year, as

27
00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:30,200
Speaker 3: an example, one two hundred and seventy people have been

28
00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:32,680
Speaker 3: killed on Australian roads, which is up six and a

29
00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,320
Speaker 3: half percent from this time last year. Now, fortunately the

30
00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,480
Speaker 3: NT road toll is down, it's twenty six compared to

31
00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,679
Speaker 3: forty eight this time last year, but that's kind of

32
00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,440
Speaker 3: a one year reversal on a three year upward trend.

33
00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:53,560
Speaker 3: So we've got together with the Triple A, the Automobile

34
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,520
Speaker 3: Association of Australian we're calling on the NT government to

35
00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:03,040
Speaker 3: release to the federal and other road safety experts all

36
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:08,160
Speaker 3: of the road safety data that it collects. So there's

37
00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:14,040
Speaker 3: comprehensive data that's collected after every road or serious road

38
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:18,720
Speaker 3: accident and fatality, so things like data around the crash,

39
00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,840
Speaker 3: so the age, the gender, the type of crass or

40
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,880
Speaker 3: was it a pedestri in a drive or a passenger,

41
00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,400
Speaker 3: what the weather conditions were, what the road conditions were,

42
00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:36,360
Speaker 3: and some of this data is available on various platforms

43
00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,200
Speaker 3: like the Road Safety and t website, but not all

44
00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,280
Speaker 3: of it's reported, and it's not all presented in a

45
00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,720
Speaker 3: consistent and uniform manner to the federal government.

46
00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,359
Speaker 1: So how do you reckon, like, how do you think

47
00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,600
Speaker 1: that that data on that road trauma could be better

48
00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:53,960
Speaker 1: used than when it comes to funding.

49
00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,880
Speaker 3: Well, if you're if you're presenting data and all of

50
00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:03,400
Speaker 3: the data has been presented as a consistent and uniform

51
00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,240
Speaker 3: manner by all states, then you're going to have you're

52
00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:13,520
Speaker 3: going to have decisions based around evidence based decisions rather

53
00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,239
Speaker 3: than rather than political wins. So give you a really

54
00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:22,800
Speaker 3: good example. Yesterday we had the Federal Infrastructure and Transport

55
00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:30,880
Speaker 3: Minister Catherine King announce a series of cutbacks to national

56
00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:35,120
Speaker 3: infrastructure projects and that total three hundred and thirty three billion. Now,

57
00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,240
Speaker 3: fortunately there were no infrastructure projects scrapped in the NT,

58
00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,840
Speaker 3: but the lack of transparency on the road safety data

59
00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:48,200
Speaker 3: means we have no way to understand the basis which

60
00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,960
Speaker 3: the minister decided which projects to scrap and which to keep.

61
00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,640
Speaker 3: So we don't know whether the cuts and approvals are

62
00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,920
Speaker 3: being made to make roads safer or to win votes

63
00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:04,320
Speaker 3: in target electric. So we need confidence that governments are

64
00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:11,440
Speaker 3: making decisions are based on evidence. And you know, all

65
00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,080
Speaker 3: the roads, all the roads in MT, all the highways,

66
00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:18,680
Speaker 3: i should say, in the NT have a road assessment rating,

67
00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,080
Speaker 3: so it's between one and five. So if it's one,

68
00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,719
Speaker 3: that means it's a really bad road. And I'm sure

69
00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,000
Speaker 3: we've all been driven on one of those before it

70
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,760
Speaker 3: goes right after five, which means it it's a really

71
00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,880
Speaker 3: good road. But the only way that we know what

72
00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,920
Speaker 3: the rating of a road is is to submit a

73
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,080
Speaker 3: freedom of information request. So for all intention purposes, we

74
00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,080
Speaker 3: don't know what each individual road rating is here in

75
00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,320
Speaker 3: the end. So if you've got if you've got you know,

76
00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,400
Speaker 3: a number or a sequence of crashes happening on a

77
00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,360
Speaker 3: particular road and that coincides with a particularly very bad

78
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,760
Speaker 3: road rating, then in my mind that that forms the

79
00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:00,600
Speaker 3: basis of the it upgrade.

80
00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:03,640
Speaker 1: So, Simon, is there something that the other states and

81
00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,479
Speaker 1: territories are also pushing forward? Do they want to see

82
00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:08,480
Speaker 1: this change as well or just us here in the NT?

83
00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:15,120
Speaker 3: No? No, No, it's a national campaign. And it's because you know,

84
00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,120
Speaker 3: we don't know the extent to which state and federal

85
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,080
Speaker 3: governments are submitting submitting data to the federal government, so

86
00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:26,920
Speaker 3: there's no consistency in decision making. There's no consistency in

87
00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,159
Speaker 3: the data. So we're saying, okay, well, if everyone is

88
00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:36,080
Speaker 3: working to the same data, then you've got this uniform form,

89
00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,600
Speaker 3: uniform and consistent decision making. It gives you confidence that

90
00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:43,480
Speaker 3: money is being directed to the right area.

91
00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,760
Speaker 1: So have you got plans at this stage to meet

92
00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,479
Speaker 1: with the federal government about this or the territory government

93
00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:48,880
Speaker 1: about this?

94
00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:50,119
Speaker 2: Where to from here?

95
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,920
Speaker 3: Well, what we're what we've done. I've written to Minister

96
00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:59,239
Speaker 3: Bowden and I've spoken to his office, and I'm unable

97
00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,640
Speaker 3: to establish the extent at this point to which MTG

98
00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,160
Speaker 3: supplies the data to the Common AUTH. But I'm certainly

99
00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:10,080
Speaker 3: working with difficult to ensure that the MTG meets its

100
00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:14,560
Speaker 3: obligations because I'm sure you agree that there are some

101
00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,720
Speaker 3: things that rise about politics, and we do know that

102
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,520
Speaker 3: data saves lives and we want to make sure that

103
00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,560
Speaker 3: that mt government is meeting at the end of the bargain.

104
00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:31,840
Speaker 1: Well, Simon Matthias, we really appreciate your time this morning.

105
00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:33,360
Speaker 2: Did I get it right in the end?

106
00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:34,839
Speaker 3: You got it right?

107
00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:37,680
Speaker 2: Good on you, Simon, Thank you so much for your time.

108
00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:38,040
Speaker 2: This morning,