Labor wants to lower the default speed limit on regional roads from 100 to 70 kilometres per hour – with one of the reasons being to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Government's Regulatory Impact Statement argues that slower speeds will reduce fuel consumption and therefore reduce carbon emissions from vehicles.
Deputy Nationals' Leader and Federal Member for Page, Kevin Hogan, said Labor are trying to meet their reckless net zero 2050 targets, and it's having real impacts on regional Australians.
"Instead of actually fixing the roads that we rely on, Labor's answer is to slow people down," Mr Hogan said.
"Families, farmers, freight operators, and tradies in the bush are being punished to make Labor look good at a climate conference. They're treating regional Australians as the easy target for their net zero experiments."
He said the plan would devastate productivity across regional industries.
"This would be a 30 per cent cut in productivity for every farmer, truckie, tradie, and small business that depends on these roads. It means longer trips, higher fuel bills, and higher costs for every household," Mr Hogan said.
"It's a bureaucratic quick fix that ignores the realities of regional life. Mums and dads driving kids to school, families heading to sport, freight operators moving our food and fibre. They'll all pay the price."
