Trauma specialist Dr Bill Griggs is philosophical about Treasurer Rob Lucas’s decision to axe the MAC, whose primary role as the monopoly manger of compulsory third party insurance in SA became redundant after the previous Labor government privatised the CTP market in 2016.

“The Government’s made the decision as to which way we want to go, so we’ll transition as effectively and efficiently as possible,” Griggs told InDaily.

He said he had been in discussions with the current and previous governments about MAC’s future role as a road safety campaigner “ever since the plan was made to privatise the CTP function”, with “a number of models” considered – including retaining the agency as a standalone advocate.

But Griggs says while the agency’s functions will now be subsumed by a range of existing agencies – including SAPOL and the Transport Department – “there’s no reason why it can’t be done under a slightly different label”.

“The MAC brand has some value in SA and maybe there’s a chance to use that going forward,” he said.

“There are a number of possible ways this might continue in the future.”

He suggested he would continue discussions about transferring “some of our current staff” to administer future Government-run campaigns, as well as retaining the MAC branding.

“I think that’s one of the points for discussion going forward, to try to work out a way we can make sure things are as effective as possible,” he said.

“One option to talk about was using the current brand, but we haven’t begun those discussions with the organisations as yet.”

But Treasurer Rob Lucas said while the issue had been raised with him, “I’m not sure how [it would work] if the MAC, as a body, is dissolved”.

“From that viewpoint, I guess there’s been no active consideration of that at this stage, but if the issue continues to be raised we’ll explore it,” he said.

“But the organisation will eventually go, [so] it will be largely symbolic, I suppose.”

Dr Bill Griggs in 2009. Photo via AAP

Lucas has guaranteed the existing $11 million of annual funding – including around $5 million for advertising campaigns – will continue, and will be “quarantined” to ensure other agencies can’t use the extra money “to offset budget savings tasks”.

But he downplayed the importance of the MAC itself in future road safety campaigns, pointing out that effective historical advertisements such as the 2008 ‘Creepers’ campaign were delivered via private sector agencies.

“Creepers was originally Clemenger BBDO,” he noted.

“I think there’s this view that MAC in of itself creates ‘Creepers’ or whatever it is, but the creative ideas and content come from ad agencies… you hire the very best from the private sector through an ad agency such as Clemengers or KWP.”

He also noted that QBE, one of the four new private sector CTP insurers to enter the market in 2016, had already launched its own ‘Safer Roads’ campaign in August.

“One of the potential benefits of what the government’s done with the privatised market is we may well have some, if not all, of the private sector insurers investing in the road safety message as well,” he said.

“One of the four private sector insurers has already entered that space, in terms of adding to the road safety message [and] it’s clearly in their commercial interest to try and reduce accidents and claims and claim costs, so from that viewpoint there may well be a net additional ad benefit in terms of the road safety message.”

The MAC is set to be dissolved in July next year.