Mr. Sam Waide:

That is a very good question and I am glad the Senator asked it. It comes back to a term referenced earlier, namely, consistency. As road users, whether we are pedestrians, cyclists, motorists or heavy or light goods vehicle drivers, we need a level of consistency across the country, so we are not driving, walking or cycling into one council area and having one set of rules and then driving, walking or cycling into another council area that has another set of rules. The political system has a major role to play to ensure consistency is applied across the country. As I stated, the councils are represented on the road safety partnership board in that regard but outside my remit, there is a major role for councillors and elected representatives to ensure that consistency of approach, whether it is implementing a 30 km/h speed limit as a default or various forms of that. I would welcome that consistency and I am sure all members of the public and road users would welcome that consistency.

I keep coming back to the point that the longer we debate this in the coming months and years, the greater the number of serious injuries and fatalities that will occur. This is about outcomes, notably the 50% reduction by 2030, so I am asking everyone to help move this at pace in political circles, organisational circles and in support of the public as a whole.