Seven top road safety experts have been appointed to the recently established National Road Safety Council, underscoring the Rudd Labor Government’s efforts to bring a national focus to the major social problem of road trauma.

Each year more than 1,500 Australians die and a further 32,000 are seriously injured on the nation’s roads. That’s simply too many families shattered and lives scarred.

The Council’s immediate task will be to advise governments on the development of the next 10-year National Road Safety Strategy which will set an ambitious, long term vision for road safety improvements and adopt explicit national targets.

They will also be able to commission research into the effectiveness of potential as well as existing measures designed to reduce the road toll.

The Council will be chaired by Mr Roger Cook AM, an individual with impressive credentials and extensive policy experience. He is the current chair of the South Australian Motor Accident Commission.

A full list of Council members is attached.

We have also appointed Road Safety Ambassadors to aid the Council’s efforts to communicate their road safety message to the broader community. They will be:

• Lindsay Fox – trucking operator;


• David Wirrpanda – former AFL player;


• Mel Doyle – co-host of the Sunrise program;


• Neil Mitchell – radio presenter.

The establishment of the Council complements other measures we’re taking to reduce the national road toll, including the biggest ever Federal investment in roads, the construction of more rest stops for truckies and the provision of some 200,000 free driving lessons to learner drivers and their parents.

Council members and ambassadors have been appointed for terms of three years.