Finding strategies to prevent further deaths and serious injuries from quad bikes in NSW was the focus of a roundtable discussion at state Parliament on Monday.
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A range of medical, agricultural and industry experts gathered at NSW Parliament to discuss these strategies which included age restrictions for adult bikes, mandating helmets and a united approach from the government.
There have been 113 quad bike deaths in Australia since 2011, with 32 deaths in NSW alone.
Representatives who attended the roundtable discussion included the Royal Australian College of Surgeons, the Rural Doctors Association, NSW Farmers, Country Women’s Association, Federal chamber of Automotive Industries and Vehicle manufacturers
When Fairfax Media spoke to Shadow Minister for Primary Industries Mick Veitch the roundtable discussion had just concluded and said it had been very successful, with everyone in agreement that action needs to be taken.
“The message was clear, people are sick and tired of talk, they want action,” he said.
Minister Veitch said an invitation was extended the Federal government to attend the roundtable, but they declined.
He said those who did attend were in agreement on a range of issues, which included the mandatory use of helmets, that those under 16 years shouldn’t use adult sized quad bikes, education and community training of safe quad bike use and for politicians to work together.
“People want politicians to work together to implement measures to make quads safer,” he said.
“It’s essential there is a bipartisan approach.”
Labor said the roundtable would help shape its policies in the lead up to the 2019 election and that the government had failed to comprehend the broader issues around quad bike fatalities and were simply looking at it as an on farm issue, and it was time for the issue of age restrictions to be considered by Parliament.
Shadow Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Yasmin Catley said the fact that 113 people have died since 2011 is not just tragic but should be a sign that more needs to be done.
“The Federal and State Governments are simply not doing enough in addressing quad bike deaths in Australia,” she said.