Julie Anne Genter: 'Road safety one of our highest priorities'

The Government has announced $1.4 billion to make dangerous roads safer over three years to save lives and prevent serious injuries. The Safe Network Programme will make 870km of high-volume, high-risk State Highways safer by 2021 with improvements like median and side barriers, rumble strips, and shoulder widening, according to Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter. Genter told The Weekend Collective the issue of road safety is high up on the agenda, and will be a major issue in the coming years. "This government has made road safety one of our highest priorities. We have looked at 870km of state highways which can be improved. Central and local government will be partnering together to improve our roads and reduce injuries." Genter says no other industry accepted hundreds of people dying each year as normal. "Its really good value for money when you consider what the previous government was spending on our highways. We are going to avoid 160 serious injuries per year with the improvements." The programme will target an estimated $600m to $700m of state highway safety improvements and $700m to $800m of local road safety improvements. LISTEN ABOVE AS JULIE ANNE GENTER SPEAKS TO THE WEEKEND COLLECTIVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.