'Data transparency for road funding': Minister offers ultimatum to states

The federal and state governments are negotiating the final details of a five-year infrastructure funding agreement that will take effect on July 1.

Australia recorded its most road deaths in five years in 2023 with Victoria suffering its worst toll for 15 years and NSW recording the largest year-on-year spike of any state.

Regional fatalities accounted for 178 of Victoria's 295 deaths in 2023, a 28 per cent spike from the previous year.

NSW also had a horror year on the roads with 364 deaths, a 33 per cent jump from 2022.

Ms King told a national road transport summit in Melbourne on May 2 the Commonwealth would insert a clause in the new funding agreement requiring states to hand over a "nationally consistent data set".

"Addressing the absence of consistent road safety data will complement the work we have already done since we came to government to improve road safety," Ms King said.

The state governments collect a huge amount of road safety data each year, from police crash investigation reports to detailed road condition surveys, and speed camera statistics.

Automotive Association of Australia (AAA) managing director Michael Bradley said this information could build a fantastic picture of which roads needed the most urgent investment but the states kept it under lock an key.

"Every state and territory government has promised to report the road safety data they collect but so far none have," Mr Bradley said.

"We want that data released because you'll be able to tell whether the money is going where it needs to go."

Mr Bradley said federal road funding was handed to the states with 'no strings attached' which meant each state government had complete control over how it was handled.

"For every other department, that funding has to be justified, but not for transport," he said.

"When you ask voters about that they're deeply cynical, they say it's because road funding is allocated to win seats, not to save lives."

The AAA has led a six-month campaign throughout the funding negotiations to push for data transparency from the states.

Mr Bradley said Ms King's data sharing announcement was the most significant road safety reform in decades.

"This reform will also clip the wings of politicians who are tempted to invest scarce public money on road projects to win votes in marginal electorates, rather than projects that can save lives," he said.

The federal government provides about $10 billion in road funding each year to the states, but so far Queensland is the only state that has committed to handing over all relevant data.

Qld transport minister Bart Mellish said the government was preparing to pass on the material to the Commonwealth.

Despite suffering its most road deaths in 15 years, with particularly heavy losses on its crumbling regional network, the Victorian government hasn't agreed to give up its data.

Mr Bradley said this level of road data secrecy was almost unique worldwide.

"I struggle to think of any other parts of the public health sphere in which we have such a conversation devoid of evidence or data," he said.

The Victorian government was criticised by doctors and researchers in 2023 for failing to collect reliable road crash injury data.

ACM asked whether the government had started collecting this data properly and whether it would hand over its data to the Commonwealth, but did not receive a response.

The NSW government announced it had signed a national road safety data agreement on April 19, but it hasn't agreed to hand over the full range of data. It did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.

After a year in which Australia recorded its worst road toll in five years - 1266 lives lost - Mr Bradley said it was "common sense" for the states to be transparent.

"This is a problem that is going to hospitalise 100 people today and another 100 tomorrow," he said.

"It's clear the current approach isn't working, our road toll is rising when it should be going down."