Ben Fordham, a radio broadcaster, has criticized the roads minister of New South Wales, Natalie Ward, for her ‘pride’ in orchestrating a $9 million rollback on speed camera warning signs.
In a contentious discussion with Ms. Ward, Fordham honed in on the NSW government’s costly volte-face of removing warning signs placed around mobile speed cameras, only to be forced by community uproar to reinstate them.
Fordham alleged that the state government wasted $9 million by going full circle.
Ms. Ward responded, “I wouldn’t call that waste; I would call it listening to the community.”
We heard loud and clear from the community that they desired the return of these signs.
“We want to strike a balance between getting people across our roadways safely and giving them the opportunity to modify their behavior.”
“We’ve already heard that. We have taken action. This is what an effective government does.
The removal of warning signs around speed cameras in New South Wales two years ago resulted in a 750% spike in low-range offenses, where cars were 10km/h or less over the speed limit, resulting in $45 million in fines.
Ms. Ward stated that she would “love to not have a single dime from speeding penalties” and argued that the money was not income because it was used to fund driver education and road safety projects.
She stated, “I’m glad that we have a government that listens and is able to adapt its regulations to offer drivers an opportunity to change their behavior on the road.”
“I just wanted to make sure that drivers have the opportunity to alter their driving behavior while on the road, and not three weeks later when they receive a ticket in the mail.”
Before reverting to the former approach, the New South Wales government placed 1,000 speed camera warning signs at random locations throughout the state and then placed notices on the speed camera trucks, which drivers did not notice until it was too late.
Fordham accused the Liberal administration of being “too arrogant” to return the signs to their original state before attempting the unsuccessful alternatives, arguing that doing so would be viewed as a victory for Labor Opposition leader Chris Minns.
Ms. Ward retorted, “I don’t think I’ve been arrogant in any of this; I’ve worked extremely hard to ensure that we are modifying the policy.”
Fordham requested to know why the warnings would not be reinstated until the first of January, with the implementation reportedly being delayed because the signs are too large to fit in the trucks.
Ms. Ward stated that she was unaware of the specifics, but that it would take some time for NSW Transport to negotiate with the mobile speed camera contractors. She stated that she had asked her department to complete the task “immediately.”
Fordham inquired as to why the budget for the new signage for the 143 mobile speed cameras was $2.6 million, or about $1,800 per sign.
Are they composed of gold? Fordham asked.
Ms. Ward stated, “Listening to the community comes at a price, Ben.”
We heard from the community that this is what they desired, therefore we’ve modified our policy at a cost.
Ms. Ward evaded accountability when Fordham stated the government had already agreed it was a mistake to remove the signs in the first place.
She stated, “I wasn’t a part of those prior decisions, but I’m here to correct it now, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
Fordham demanded an apology from her.
Are you regretful? Yes or no?’ he questioned.
Ms. Ward stated, “I am proud of what our government has accomplished.”
“I am more than willing to accept responsibility for any prior judgments that have been made, but I’m here now, and on my watch we will ensure that those signs are up.”
Fordham retorted, “When you say “I’m pleased to take the blame,” I don’t hear you taking the blame; I hear a pastor in la-la land.”
Ms. Ward reiterated that she was acting based on community feedback.
“I’m putting it on the record that you are not sorry,” Fordham stated as the heated interview came to a close.