The Labor Government has discontinued the proposal to reduce speed limits in remote and rural areas, which could have seen bush speed limits be reduced to a staggering 70 km/h. The department offered opportunity to provide feedback, and AgForce was proactive in ensuring the voice of producers, who use the roads every day, are not left to endure obsolete speed limits, under the guise of 'safety'.
The AgForce Grains Policy Director, Ruth Thompson led the charge in delivering a detailed and thorough submission rejecting the proposal, arguing the key points affecting producers. The submission focused on five key categories and highlighted that fixing the roads in regional and remote Queensland to be fit-for-purpose is a far simpler and more productive outcome for industry and would make rural and regional Queensland, the cornerstones of Queensland tourism more attractive to investors, travellers and all Australians.
The five key concerns AgForce raised around reduced speed limits centred on travel time increases and productivity losses; freight and supply chain impacts; regulatory burden and compliance costs; reduced accessibility and regional equity concerns and the indirect, distributional, and competitive effects that could come from an insufficiently considered proposal.
"Regional, Rural & Remote roads are in dire condition. Reducing speed limits is not the answer, fixing the infrastructure is. These roads are critical to providing our urban counterparts and the rest of the world quality food and fibre," Ruth says.
