Advertisement

Libs scrap the MAC, but vow road safety focus won’t diminish

The state’s Motor Accident Commission will be abolished, the Marshall Government has announced, as a “natural consequence” of the privatisation of its “core function”.

Oct 22, 2018, updated Oct 22, 2018
Rob Lucas insists road safety campaigns will not be affected by the decision to scrap the MAC. Photo: Sam Wundke / AAP

Rob Lucas insists road safety campaigns will not be affected by the decision to scrap the MAC. Photo: Sam Wundke / AAP

The former Labor government announced in 2014 that it was opening compulsory third party insurance up to private competition from 2016, with AAMI, Allianz, QBE and SGIC now sharing the market in SA.

Dividends from the sell-off are expected to net around $1.7 billion over the eight years from 2014-15, with Treasurer Rob Lucas lamenting in his budget speech this year that “a series of one-off financial ‘sugar hits’ from the privatisation” had created “artificial budget surpluses which were unsustainable once the MAC dividends had been spent”.

Without its traditional role as CTP insurance administrator, the MAC’s primary responsibility now is running road safety campaigns, providing funding for research, projects and campaigns, while continuing to manage a backlog of claims for accidents that occurred up to June 2016.

But Lucas today announced the Liberal Government would “wind down” the MAC from July next year, with its road safety components to be administered by a range of other existing agencies, including SA Police, the Transport Department and the Office for Recreation and Sport.

“This sensible move is a natural consequence of the former Labor government’s decision to sell off the Motor Accident Commission’s CTP insurance business which, effectively, stripped it of its core function,’’ Lucas said.

He told InDaily the move would result in modest annual savings of around $2-3 million as a result of reducing “corporate overheads”.

There was always a “certain inevitability about MAC’s long-term role”, Lucas said.

“Essentially the die was cast,” he said of the privatisation.

“MAC was a CTP insurer, so once the government privatised it, its reason for being disappeared… these additional tasks were very worthwhile, but its main job was CTP insurance.”

He said with the claims backlog reducing, “we see great value in now transferring the delivery of [MAC’s] remaining road safety initiatives to other arms of government already playing an important role in this space”.

“Critically, this will ensure we can continue to deliver the same high-quality road safety initiatives to protect and educate South Australians in safe road use,” he said.

Lucas insisted the government’s commitment to road safety remained “unchanged”, with MAC’s total current funding of about $11 million for advertising, research, partnerships and sponsorships to be maintained, and all existing partnerships and sponsorships – including the rescue helicopter – to be rolled over at their existing levels to June 2020.

However, he said, the MAC itself would be “abolished” as soon as it has “finalised its role in managing the remaining claims”.

Only yesterday, the MAC was spruiking the historical success of its 2008 ‘Creepers’ commercials, which it lauded in a Sunday Mail article as helping change public attitudes about driving 5kph over the speed limit.

It’s understood the MAC board and management are aware of the impending change.

Lucas said he had spoken to MAC Chair Dr Bill Griggs, and had discussed “a couple of options”- including that the commission continued as a “specialised road safety body”, but that the Government had opted to wind it down.

“I’m sure there would be some [on the board] who may well have liked to see it continue,” he said.

Opposition spokesman Stephen Mullighan said the MAC’s road safety activities were “a key service which help keep South Australians safe on the road”.

“There is no justification for this latest Liberal cut,” he said in a statement.

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.