Hi all.
Since an election is just around the corner I thought that a thread that has all the election propaganda would be interesting.
I will start it off with this one. I find it a complete obscenity that Donga Delia does not want the road toll to be an election issue. It is obscene that she wants it swept under the carpet, and not debated in a public forum, like an election campaign.
Yes people are dying, and its is because of her governments policies that it is happening.
Shame on you Delia!!!
The Opposition is also calling for a greater police presence to stop people being killed on Territory roads. (WA Police)
The Northern Territory Opposition has lashed out at the Government for not doing to enough to stop a rising death toll on Territory roads.
Last year saw the highest road toll in the Territory in a decade and this year looks set to be worse.
This year's toll climbed to 34 over the weekend when a 28-year-old man crashed the car he was driving into a horse near Willowra, north of Alice Springs.
This year's toll is 11 more than at the same time last year.
The Country Liberal's spokeswoman for transport Fay Miller says it is obvious the introduction demerit points and speed limits has not worked and the Opposition will make it an election issue.
"Innocent people are being killed, when it's not necessary for them to be even injured," she says.
"To me, education in remote communities by practical demonstrations to show them what the results would be if they aren't wearing seatbelts would go so so much further in reducing the road toll.
"Yes, it will certainly will be an election issue because what the Government has introduced is not working."
The Opposition is also calling for a greater police presence to stop people being killed on Territory roads.
But Transport Minister Delia Lawrie says it is "obscene" that the Opposition is using the road toll to score political points, and says her Government has spent millions to reinstate the police traffic branch that the Opposition axed when it was in power.
She says this year there have been a number of pedestrian deaths on Territory roads, and the government is acting.
"In terms of the pedestrian deaths, they have tragically been related to alcohol, so we will continue to do what we can to deal with the trauma of alcohol in our society.
"What all the road safety experts say is it takes years to change driver behaviour: that is why we've put millions of dollars into road safety reforms, that is why we've brought back the police traffic branch for enforcement.
"I find it fairly obscene to use the tragedy of people dying as a political football."
For the record they have made and extra one million dollars in revenue from speeding fines and have made the road toll statisically worse. Its blood money, plain and simple and they should be ashamed.
For Delia to say otherwise just highlights the lengths this government will go to. Honestly it astounds me and makes me feel sick.
Laws MUST have an evidentary base.
Delia Lawrie, you are truly stupid and should not be in politics. It is very apparent that you have not read the Taskforce Report and are clueless about the problems on NT roads.
If the traffic branch was doing its job the road toll would be falling NOW. It is not "obscene" for the Opposition to make points out of the road toll because the policies your government implemented to combat the road toll are a complete failure, they were ill conceived and do not tackle the root causes of the NT road toll.
My God Delia, you are clueless. Too many pedestrian deaths occur every year, not just this year and you should know this if you read the Taskforce Report. The issues are, (a) 85% of pedestrians killed are intoxicated, and (b) 80% are aboriginal yet they only make up 30% of the NT general population.
This is a load of croc! You have not spent millions at all, all you did is produce a report, which you have not read, and increased all the fines for traffic infringements and spent some money on a combined speed/red light camera on the Stuart Highway at BP Palms which has not recorded any deaths!
Delia, your government introduced a speed limit on the open highways when speeding was never an issue at all, neither on the highways or in suburban areas. Delia my poor fool, THE NT HAS THE LOWEST INCIDENCE OF SPEED RELATED FATALITIES IN AUSTRALIA AT 17%. THIS WAS PRIOR TO YOUR NEW LAWS INTRODUCED ON 1ST JANUARY 2007. NSW HAS THE HIGHEST INCIDENCE OF SPEED RELATED FATALITIES AT 40% AND VICTORIA, THE SO CALLED ROAD SAFETY "CHAMPIONS", ATTRIBUTE 30% OF ROAD DEATHS TO SPEED.
YET, NSW, VIC AND ALL THE OTHER SOUTHERN STATES PUSH THE LINE THAT SPEED CAMERA'S, DEMERITSAND THE LIKE REDUCE SPEEDING.
THE NT IS LIVING PROOF THAT THIS IS CLEARLY NOT THE CASE.
AND WE AT KEEPNTLIMITFREE HAVE DONE THE RESEARCH TO PROVE THIS. WE HAVE THE NUMBERS AND CAN PROVIDE ALL THE INDEXES AND CROSS REFERENCES YOU NEED TO SHOW WHERE WE GOT OUR DIRT ON ALL THE SOUTHERN STATES.
One more term and she will be OK, tax payer funded super and she is out of here.
I lived in her electorate of Karama for eight years and she had the audacity to say she was happy to bring her kids up in Karama and retire there.
That about sums up this dimwit. Karama is a s### H###, I know because I lived there.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/07/21/4754_ntnews.html
Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson says the high road toll should not become a political football during the election campaign.
The road toll stands at 38 compared to 24 this time last year, despite the introduction of speed limits on the open roads and a demerit system.
The Country Liberals have promised to bring back unrestricted speed limits if elected next month.
But Mr Henderson has told the ABC's Stateline program that Labor has been doing all it can to change the Territory's culture of bad driving.
"We introduced a whole raft of changes to try and change the culture and driving behaviour across the Northern Territory that sees us with an appalling road toll," he said.
"We've announced just the other day, further measures in terms of an alcohol interlock device to deal with people who are repeat drink-driving offenders.
"There are not single simple issues to this."
Country Liberals Leader Terry Mills has told Stateline the biggest problem is the need for stronger law enforcement.
"You put your policy effort in the right place, that being, police more heavily those that drink and drive, make sure that people wear seatbelts, and ensure that there are adequate penalties to enforce that," he said.
"Police what you can police."
ALP dont want to talk about the road toll. If they dont want to talk about their failed policies, then they dont have anything to talk about at all!!!!
I am a member of a parenting forum, 'Essential Baby' (among many as a roads fella). I asked the following question at their NT member section;
With NT electioneering underway, I'd like to ask NT members if the road toll, or if so called 'road safety' matters whatsoever, in-your-choice-of-vote?2007 decade high, 2008 higher again to date.http://www.nt.gov.au/pfes/PFES/index.cfm?f...tion=page&p=148 The 2008 road toll to date has just increased to 38, and is now 14 more than the same time last year (ie 24). This is a 58% increase. Curious. Any views on what you'd like done about this?
The 2008 road toll to date has just increased to 38, and is now 14 more than the same time last year (ie 24). This is a 58% increase.
Curious. Any views on what you'd like done about this?
I'll post responses so far:-
MEMBER 1:-
"Yeah our road toll is shocking!!!Is it an election issue... yas and no alot of current issues up here atm.IMO - the changes over last few years have been detrimental and ill thought out - more of a short term response than actual culture / high impact policys which those stats seem to back up.ie. removing unlimited ban on Stuart highway - may sound reasonable but it actually is ridiculous the emphasis on unlimited was to drive to your capability and that of your car - now 130 is the limit and when you are driving down a fairly straight road for over 10 hours it is an issue.- Also the introduction of demerit points - USELESS revenue raising!- Introduction of speed camers in 'certain' spots - the high humidity in the wet causes havoc and they have been down more than working making them a joke.No programs (that I know of) addressing remote driving - particularly in remote ares where can be up to 01 people in a troop carrier - no one wearing set belts ...What is working - Cops run a regular drag night - for street rego cars - turn out is good. Lets people puch cars to the limit in a safe environment".
MEMBER 2:-
"Influence in voting - a little but I look at the 'overall issues' and how they are addressed, not at one particular issue.I have no problem with higher fines. Generally, they will hurt more the the demerit points here. Hell, I know many that still drive unlicensed but would hate to pay double for speeding and what not!As for open speed limit, I am all for it. The more time spent driving long distances will cause driver fatigue and boredom, both are extremely dangerous and can happen at any speed. Sure, there are ways to prevent fatigue. Change drivers (if you are not alone), have more breaks, where? Would you stop/sleep on the side of a road at night? More people are driving at night becuase their distance covered, is a lot less than before. NT, WA and QLD have very large distances to travel unlike most of the highways further south, plus they have more things to look at to keep the mind stimulated.Keeping NT limit Free. OK, I accept that this is from the mob that want open speed limit but very factual.
Personally, I believe speed is less of a factor in road fatalities than, alcohol, not wearing a seat belt and driver fatigue".
MEMBER 3:-
Road toll has jumped yet again and now stands at 39 compared to 26 at the same time last year. This equates to a 50% increase. Well done to the NT Labor Government for your brilliant road policies, you have blood on your hands. Here is a link to the police website with the updated road toll figures:
http://www.nt.gov.au/pfes/PFES/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&p=148
People should be up in arms about what is happening in the NT and the government should be voted out comprehensively at the upcoming election. It is just not on.
Think about this people.If a government came out and overturned all the ridiculous tobacco laws, so it was open slather for people to smoke when and where they want, people would be up in arms. Because, it would result in more deaths.
The situation in the NT is no different with the road policies these meatheads have introduced, and nobody seems to care. WE CARE, but we're not running candidates in the election. We have tried to give the CLP the heads up with our research, but really, they don't seem too interested. If the CLP was serious about winning the upcoming election, and serious about saving people's lives, they would be tearing strips off the ALP in parliament. But they're not.
So, the CLP as far as I'm concerned deserve to get hammered at the election. This is very serious stuff, and it is outrageous that nobody is taking the ALP to task on their TOTAL ROAD POLICY FAILURE!
We at KeepNTLimitFree have said we will support anyone that wants to overturn the speed limit on the highways, and I am sorry Mr Administrator if I annoy you with this comment, but the CLP is just as bad, if not worse than the ALP for allowing the ALP to get away with this nonsense. To the credit of the CLP they have said they will overturn the speed limit but that's easy to say when you know you have a snowball's chance of winning!
The fact is that the NT's new road policies are killing people, not saving people, and people of the NT, Australia and the world should know about it and we should make the NT government feel really bad about it. They certainly do not care, and will not debate it with anybody.
Their line is that "the road toll should not be used as a political football" to get out of talking about it.
Well, when people are dying because of YOUR POLICIES you should talk about it.
It's a disgrace and I am livid with both sides of politics