On 11-14 March, the Special Envoy met with the Minister of Roads of Victoria and the Governor of Victoria and presented key priorities of his assigned mandate as well as shared about his activities to date. He emphasized the need for stronger leadership and scaled up action, noting the approaching deadline to achieve the target 3.6 to halve road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2020.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety shared that Australia has a national target of reducing an overall number of road traffic fatalities by 30% by 2020. The Special Envoy shared about the recently established UNRSTF, encouraging Australian government to consider support. Considering that Melbourne is the second most populous city in Australia, the Special Envoy encouraged the Governor of Victoria to focus on vulnerable populations at the city level, with the aim to achieve zero fatalities and injuries in urban areas. In conclusion, the Special Envoy reminded that Australia is a contracting party to two out of six United Nations road safety conventions and recommended accession to the remaining four.
The following government officials participated in the meeting with the Special Envoy:
o Ms. Jaala Pulford, Minister for Roads, Road Safety & the Transport Accident Commission
o Ms. Linda Dessau, Governor of Victoria