I rise to give a statement on the 2009 annual report of the Transport Accident
Commission. As members in the chamber will be aware, 2009 marked the beginning
of a new chapter for the TAC, with its moving to its brand-new Geelong
headquarters.
More than a year on from the Premier and TAC minister
announcing the official opening of the Geelong TAC building, many employees have
settled in Geelong and the surrounding region. At the time of this report more
than 193 TAC employees had purchased property in the Barwon region and many more
are renting in the area. The TAC’s relocation to Geelong is expected to generate
approximately $59 million a year in economic benefits to the local community.
Members would be aware that the role of the TAC is to reduce
road trauma and its impact on the lives of Victorians who have suffered through
traffic accidents. The organisation has a very difficult job, but it does a good
job in assisting people who have suffered major injuries as a result of traffic
accidents. That time is horrific for those directly involved as well as for
their families. It often means significant changes in the way people behave
after traffic accidents and the way that they conduct and lead their lives. As I
said, that is true for the individuals involved, their families and their
friends.
Beyond dealing with the physical trauma and the months of
recovery for individuals, it is also involved in recovery from the mental stress
on individual traffic accident victims as well. The TAC has teams of people
offering support in many different ways to assist people recovering from
horrific incidents in their lives.
During the 2009 reporting period it recorded a 7.62 out of 10
client engagement score, which is the highest ever recorded in the TAC’s
history. Coupled with this, there was a record high 75 per cent of staff morale
recorded during the reporting period. That also is an increase which is quite
significant given the restructure and the relocation of individuals employed by
the TAC in that period.
Also during 2008, Victoria recorded the lowest ever road toll,
at 303 people; and it invested $112 million in road safety improvements. The
hospitalised claim rate was 7.3 per 10 000 vehicles compared with 7.8 in the
previous year, so there was a marked improvement there.
I take this opportunity to encourage members
to go to the papers office and pick up a copy of this annual report, because it
is important to become acquainted with all the elements of the operations of the
TAC. The report also provides information members might find informative and
pass on to their constituents, which may in turn assist local communities. An
example is information about the TAC road safety grants program, which provides
grants of up to $20 000 to community-based projects conducted by not-for-profit
groups that can demonstrate a specific local road safety issue and create a
project to address it.
Even apart from the fact that Geelong is now the home of the
TAC, the TAC has been very welcome to the local community. It is an important
stakeholder and a partner in the community of Geelong, and it takes up an
important seat at the community leadership table, which plays a critical role in
taking our region forward. I commend this report to the house, and I urge those
who come to Geelong to visit this very environmentally sensitive and sustainable
building.
