National Broadband Network has seven years to go

This week, the first anniversary of the Australian Government's announcement to build a National Broadband Network (NBN) over eight years was the subject of a progress update released by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.

In his media release, the Minister said that in the 12 months since the announcement, significant progress had been made. This included the establishment of NBN Co and industry consultations, the rollout in Tasmania, the $250 million NBN Regional Backbone Blackspots Program (which will see approximately 6000km of optical fibre backbone laid, benefiting more than 100 regional locations and approximately 400,000 people), and the announcement last month of the NBN Co First Release Sites in mainland Australia.

ALGA continues to represent local government on issues relating to the NBN through its membership of the Online & Communications Council, and a council-led conference in Melbourne last month (hosted by the City of Whittlesea) specifically focused on the potential benefits which the NBN can bring to local and regional communities.

The Minister's progress update is now available here.

Australia's population debate

The Government has estimated that by 2050 Australia's population will be 36 million. The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has created a Minister for Population, and entrusted Labor frontbencher, Tony Burke, with the responsibility "to develop Australia's first comprehensive population strategy". Given the task of working out what is best for the national interest, Tony Burke told Leon Byer on 5AA this week that on the one hand, the infrastructure in many Australian cities and regional areas is being stretched; on the other, employers in regional areas who do not have enough workers would welcome immigrants to do the job. Both are true, and the Government's job is to reconcile these facts.

Some are disagreeing with what the facts are. Opposition spokesman, Scott Morrison, the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, told ABC's Lateline that the Government's predicted population figures were a radical underestimation, and that migration levels should be cut. He claimed that the Government was merely moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic instead of asking the tough question: how many people can the nation accommodate sustainably? Scott Morrison said that the coalition would cut immigration if it wins the next federal election.

On another occasion, Morrison mocked Tony Burke as the 'Minister for Over-population'. He said that the Opposition and the Greens Leader, Bob Brown, have called for an inquiry into population growth, and that the issues should be put on the COAG agenda.

With Australian Industry Group chief executive, Heather Ridout, claiming that curbing Australia's migration intake will mean higher taxes, and a wide variety of passionate opinions expressed in all media this week, the debate about the possible consequences of Australia's growing population is escalating.

The migration issue has particular relevance for local government, as it is councils who must provide a multitude of services for the settlement of new arrivals, and it is important that councils are given adequate support to do so.

The contentious topic of Australian population growth is set to continue, and we can expect more volatile arguments as the nation moves towards a federal election date.

Heart Foundation Local Government Awards now open!

Are you leading the way in creating healthy communities? Are you building a sense of community, encouraging people to be active, be smoke free or make healthy food choices? If your answer is yes, then the Heart Foundation wants to hear from you.

Entries for the Heart Foundation Local Government Awards 2010 are now open and not only do you have the chance of receiving recognition from the Heart Foundation but you could also receive part of the $34,000 in cash awards and a plaque.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and a major source of disability in Australia. However, people can reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by making healthier lifestyle choices. Local governments which create supportive environments to promote better health and reduce the risk of chronic conditions can receive recognition through the Heart Foundation Local Government Awards.

The 2010 awards program has six categories:

• Employee Health and Wellbeing
• Facilities
• Healthy Weight
• Planning for Active Living
• Priority Groups
• Tobacco

For entry forms and information about the 2010 awards click here or call 1300 36 27 87.

Entries close 4 June 2010.

Cooperative federalism requires more than governments merely meeting together - and one of the main stumbling blocks that must be overcome is Australia's Constitution.

Despite local government having existed in Australia since the 1840s, it is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.

That is a problem which I will explain shortly, but before I do, let me just get straight what this isn't on about.

Despite the way some people refer to it, this is not about mere recognition for local government in the Constitution. To seek constitutional change simply in order to see the words 'local government' appear somewhere in the text of the Constitution, is little more than an indulgent frolic. And one, I think, that invites an impression of local government being a bit too self absorbed. Or to put it another way - a bit of the small man syndrome!

It is a cause in which I have no interest. But let me explain the problem which does exist and which does need to be addressed.

You may recall from last year, academic Bryan Pape challenged the constitutional basis of the federal government's $900 payments to taxpayers as part of the stimulus package.

Although the High Court ultimately upheld the validity of these payments, in doing so, their reasoning has created significant uncertainty for direct funding provided by the Commonwealth to third parties in other areas when it can't be tied to a specific head of power in the Constitution.

The High Court's reasoning suggests that the money paid by the Commonwealth directly to local government is unconstitutional.

That is also the view of Professor George Williams who is one of Australia's leading constitutional scholars and lawyers and who has provided legal advice on this matter to local government.

That's why when federal funding to councils was commenced in the 1970s by the Whitlam government, the funds were channelled into local government through the states to overcome this limitation. Plainly, this is an inefficient way to transfer funding.

Since 2001 though, there has been a preference by the Commonwealth for specific program funding which involves payments directly to local government.

This now amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars which councils receive each year directly from the commonwealth for programs such as investment into local roads.

ALGA sees this development as a good thing and one which makes logical sense - as we see little point in state government being the middle man.

But Pape now stands as authority for the proposition that the Commonwealth lacks the constitutional power to provide funds directly to local government.

Let's just stop and think about that for a second.

The High Court's decision suggests that by continuing to directly fund local government, the commonwealth is breaking the law. This is a real issue and it deserves attention.

It is ridiculous that in 2010, after more than 30 years of commonwealth funding of local government:

1. not only is there still a need to maintain extra and unnecessary bureaucracy to get money to local government via the states;
2. but the move to direct funding over the past decade may also need to be rolled back.

The Constitution is meant to enable government at the national level, but in this instance it fetters it.

It's hardly controversial to suggest that this money ought to flow seamlessly.

The current position, frankly, makes no sense at all and it's an example of where the Australian system of government is out of date and needs reform.

ALGA believes that a referendum should be held during the next parliamentary term to consider whether a new financial power should be inserted in the Constitution to expressly enable the commonwealth to directly fund councils.

We see this as a bit of a no-brainer and fitting into a broader package of constitutional reform, consistent with the sort of changes currently being flagged by both sides of politics.

It's as easy as amending section 96 - the section which sets out that the commonwealth may grant financial assistance to the states on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit - and simply adding the words 'and local government'.

When it comes to constitutional change, we understand that the starting position of Australian voters and their politicians is - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

However this is an example of where it is broken and where it needs fixing.

The current arrangements are nothing but a house of cards.

The consequences of a legal challenge would be disastrous. Not only would a successful challenge invalidate current and future funding, but it would also render all past payments to councils illegal and require the money to be paid back to the commonwealth. It would bankrupt every council across the country.

It's absurd that one level of government - the federal one which collects the most tax - can't give it directly to the level which collects the least, without breaking the law.

The Rudd government supports a change to the Constitution to clean this up. So do the Greens, and the Opposition has also indicated its in principle support. This is a promising base to build upon.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Briefs

Peter Cullen Trust - 'Bridging Water Science and Policy' leadership program

The Peter Cullen Trust (www.petercullentrust.com.au) is a new charitable organisation set up to support programs that continue the work of the late Professor Peter Cullen. Peter was one of few people able put the science of water management into plain speaking, and be heard. He was indeed "the champion of the rivers who led the debate on the national water crisis and helped revolutionise how Australians think about it."

Applications are open for the Trust's 2010 leadership program, designed to train a small group of water scientists and policy experts to work together to achieve measurable outcomes bridging water science and policy. Full details are on the website, under Programs. Information packs are available from the website

Applications close on 1 July 2010.

New Productivity Commission publication

A new Productivity Commission publication presents a compilation of speeches delivered by Chairman Gary Banks over the last 12 years.

The speeches were selected for the publication according to significance and contemporary relevance. The PC has advised that 'most of the speeches are edited and abbreviated versions of those of approximately the same title that are listed on the website. They come closer to the 'spoken' versions and should be quicker to read than the longer and more detailed papers.'

Local government is mentioned in a number of the speeches, including those on the National Competition Policy and Interstate Bidding Wars.

The publication is titled An Economy-wide View: Speeches on Structural Reform and can be accessed online or by contacting Ms Tanya Frech on (03) 9653 2102 or emailing her at maps@pc.gov.au.

Best Public Service in the world

Last week, a report titled 'Ahead of the Game' was issued by the Advisory Group on Reform of Australian Government Administration, chaired by Terry Moran AO. The report follows the receipt of more than 200 submissions, six forums with Commonwealth public servants and four online forums involving the wider public in response to the Group?s 2009 paper about how to make the Australian Public Service (APS) the best public service in the world, as envisaged by the Prime Minister.

Last year's ALGA News (4 December 2009) reported that ALGA lodged a submission to the Group, which stated that whilst the APS is a highly professional and dedicated workforce, improvement was necessary. In its submission, ALGA suggested three overarching principles to enhance the APS. First, that local government should be considered and treated as an integral partner in the smooth functioning of the federation and whole-of-government administration; secondly, that the APS must have the capacity to collaborate meaningfully with the other levels of government, which cannot occur without active support for APS officers to 'cross-fertilise' skills and experience through movement between the three levels of government; and thirdly, that sufficient training (both on and off the job) must be provided if the vision of the Prime Minister is to be achieved.

In 'Ahead of the Game,' the Group presents its 'blueprint for reform'. Nine principal recommendations are made, including that: government services be made more citizen focused, which the Group says could be achieved through better links with the States, Territories and local government; there be more open government, which could be assessed through a citizen survey that could be expanded over time to include the States, Territories and local government, and not just the Commonwealth; and the capacity and capability of the APS should be strengthened by working with the States, Territories and local government to identify and address barriers to jurisdictional mobility, including the recognition of public service entitlements at all levels. In relation to Recommendation 7 (strengthening the APS workforce), the Group recommends that the Australian Public Service Commission, the Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government develop a proposal on the portability of entitlements with local government.

Other themes explored in the publication include leadership and a new role for the Australian Public Service Commission, recruitment, learning and development opportunities, cultural change, performance management and efficiency and effectiveness measures.

For further information, click here.

WALGA and Greensense track greenhouse gas emissions

Local government now have access to new tools to effectively report carbon emissions. The Western Australian Local Government Association has recognised a significant gap in Local Governments' ability to collect and report greenhouse gas emissions data, following the termination by the Commonwealth Government of the Cities for Climate Protection Program, and the absence of a dedicated Local Government reporting system.

To ensure that Local Government has a robust and consistent reporting framework with which they can meet both their mandatory and voluntary reporting requirements, the Association has worked with Greensense, one of WALGA's preferred suppliers of climate change consultancy services, to develop a Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Abatement Platform that is specific to Local Government needs.

The platform was launched on February 10th 2010, and allows Local Government to track and monitor emissions and energy use, providing a simple interface to insert raw data such as electricity consumed or fuel purchased. The platform then completes all required calculations to determine the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from Local Government activities.

The resulting emissions data can be visualised and analysed using interactive charts, enabling councils to identify trends and highlight emissions or energy intensive parts of their operations.

Users of the system are already providing positive feedback. Mark Wong from the City of Geraldton-Greenough was involved in the pilot. "The Platform has provided a simple, yet effective means of capturing the City's emissions profile from a host of Local Government facilities that the City owns and operates. In addition to achieving various compliance and reporting obligations, the platform has helped identify the larger emitters and energy intensive areas, making Officers aware of potential financial savings in these areas through efficiency improvement measures," he said.

The platform will assist Local Government to further demonstrate its continuing leadership in the climate change management area, whilst encouraging sectoral improvement and increasing Local Governments' profile. Data from the platform may also assist with leveraging climate change specific funding through various mechanisms in the future.

The platform is now available for all Local Governments. Association President, Cr Bill Mitchell said, "In signing up to the platform, Local Government will be demonstrating its ongoing commitment to acknowledging, measuring, benchmarking and reducing emissions across the sector, which reflects the acknowledgements and commitments made in the Climate Change Policy Statement, endorsed by State Council in June 2009."

About WALGA
The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) appointed a Climate Change Coordinator in 2008 to develop and deliver policy, tools and support mechanisms to the Local Government sector on climate change management strategies. Since then WALGA has worked towards ensuring the best outcomes for the sector on climate change, through a commitment to mitigation, adaptation and communication.

About Greensense
Greensense is a Perth based climate change and carbon management consultancy. Their mission is to help business and government work towards a sustainable future and to respond to the challenges and the opportunities of a carbon-limited economy. They are engaged with many of Perth's leading organisations as well as being a preferred supplier to the Local Government sector.

For further information contact:
Melanie Bainbridge, WALGA Climate Change Co-ordinator on 9213 2039 or mbainbridge@walga.asn.au or Derek Gerrard, the Managing Director of Greensense on 0403 068 271 or derek@greensense.com.au.

Education key to sustainable future

It's official, writes Peter Boyer in the Hobart Mercury this week (6 April): the furore over emails by UK climate scientists, leaked from the University of East Anglia last year, was baseless. A bilateral House of Commons investigation found there was no scientific fraud, no fiddling with the evidence, no intent to mislead the public.

The inquiry did take issue with the common scientific practice of not publishing data and computer codes on which conclusions are based. "Climate science is a matter of global importance and of public interest, and therefore the quality and transparency of the science should be irreproachable," the parliamentary committee said.

It recommended that climate scientists release via the internet enough data and methodology to allow others to verify findings.

"Climategate" demonstrated with startling clarity that the number one challenge facing humanity is not about science or technology, but about us: specifically, how we perceive and respond to what is going on around us. In 1862, with a deadly civil war threatening to tear apart the youthful United States, Abraham Lincoln urged his people to "think anew, and act anew" to save their country. In desperate times, he said, people must cast aside old ways of thinking. This great leader understood how an informed imagination can lift a people to achieve things that ordinary mortals thought impossible.

Informed imagination is what we need today to deal with the twin giant challenges of climate change and peak oil. We are talking about education in its broadest, purest sense: the spark that casts familiar things in a new light so that we understand them in a wholly different way.

We are floundering. These challenges, so big and so new, seem beyond the grasp of many of us in positions of authority: political leaders, bureaucrats, company managers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and, yes, journalists. Along with the rest of us, our leaders seem incapable of making the kinds of mental shifts that Lincoln understood so well.

While the impact of a growing world population on our natural systems makes clear our desperate need to restrain economic growth, our leaders remain fixated on growth. They know that the critical need is to cut carbon emissions now, not in a decade's time, yet they continue to talk about energy demands as if these are non-negotiable, as if they can't possibly be curbed.

We need to break our dependence on increasingly vulnerable systems. A massive public education effort, touching all ages and all social and economic strata, can achieve this. We need to re-engage with our good Earth. We need to understand more about how energy works, on both a global and a personal scale.

Boyer concludes his lucidly reasoned article with what is necessary for an education for life. This debate has a long way to go, he writes. Let's get it under way. He can be contacted at the email address below.

pb@climatetasmania.com.au

Climate Change on a Shoe String

Climate Change on a Shoe String is a combination of management and basic upgrading of fittings, many being low cost, according to Angus Kell, Archicentre's Queensland spokesman. He told the Northern Territory News/Sunday Territorian that the management and maintenance of small fittings around the home, such as dripping taps, the installation of a water efficient shower heads and turning off lights and electrical equipment such as Plasma TVs or computers when not in use, were all part of the simple plan.

Mr Kell said that this "Climate Change on a Shoe String concept will be driven home by the rapidly increasing prices in energy and water, which are set to increase by 70 per cent to 100 per cent in the next three to five years as governments move to pay for expensive new infrastructure to secure water and energy supplies."

Mr Kell said the challenge for Australian families was to improve the environmental performance of existing homes, reducing the demand for energy and water, but at the same time maintaining their existing quality of life. "It is also important that homeowners renovating ensure that any home improvements or renovations are sustainably designed by someone qualified and experienced to maximise the potential," he said.

The first step is to conduct an audit of the home to find out where and how energy is beings wasted. Mr Kell recommended the Federal Government's website as a good starting point to find information and make a list related to your home.

WA libraries cut

The future of the WA local library is in doubt after the State Government proposed slashing funding for books by up to 40 per cent, despite fears it could have a severe impact on literacy among WA children.

Under a long-running agreement, the State Government covers the cost of book stocks on a per capita basis, while local councils pay for the infrastructure, maintenance and running of libraries. After allocating $10.8 million to buy books in 2008-09, the Barnett Government cut funding to $7.95 million this financial year.

WA Local Government Association president, Bill Mitchell, told the West Australian that during negotiations with the Government, councils had been told the State planned to spend just $6.5 million on books next financial year. This was a 40 per cent drop in three years and half what the State's 139 councils needed to provide books and other resources for library users, Mr Mitchell said.

University of WA Dean of Education, Helen Wildy, warned the State Government not to cut funding to community libraries, saying they were a "pivotal point in the educational landscape of all children". She said that libraries were central to early childhood literacy and evidence showed children without a strong foundation in reading entered school "many steps behind".

About nine million visits are made to local libraries each year, ranking them second behind cinemas as WA's most popular cultural activity.

Pilot scheme to target obesity

The jobless, retirees and Aboriginals in Wanneroo and Derby-Kimberley local government areas will be targeted to lift their fitness levels and avoid chronic diseases as part of a pilot Federal scheme, reported in the West Australian last week. The two WA councils will share with another 10 across the country in a $4.9 million program that is focused on obesity and people who are overweight.

In Wanneroo, targeted community members will be referred to a 12-week program of physical activity and a dietary education. The Derby-Kimberley Shire program is aimed at developing culturally appropriate ways of increasing activity among residents with a particular focus on aquatic pursuits.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the programs formed part of a wider effort to get Australians to become more active in their daily lives.

"These initiatives are a down payment on the Government's efforts to tackle the rising prevalence of lifestyle-related chronic diseases by laying the foundations for healthy behaviours in the daily lives of Australians," she said.

Rates will be kept in check

After the release this week of the latest land valuations by the Department of Environment and Resource Management, rises in the valuation of land in some parts of the Moreton Bay region would not mean similar jumps in council rates, Mayor Allan Sutherland told the Northern Times on 26 March.

"I'd be very much disappointed if we couldn't come in with a single digit rate increase (in 2010-11)," Cr Sutherland said.

Councils use these land valuations when setting the general rate component of rates bills (this excludes other charges such as rubbish collection). The average increase for the 88,000 properties in the Moreton Bay region was 34 per cent (median value $195,000) since the last valuations were issued in 2005 for Caboolture and Redcliffe, and in 2007 for Pine Rivers. Some areas were well above that average, including Kallangur, with a 69 per cent increase.

Bray Park resident, Sharon, who only wished to give her first name, said that the value of her land had jumped from $130,000 to $187,000 in two years and that it was unfair because her rates were going to go up as a result.

Lin Lahiff of Albany Creek blamed developers for pushing up valuations by an average of 34 per cent in her area. "People will have to move from here and let the developers have it," she said.

Cr Sutherland said the council might have to use capping to limit increases in some areas so residential ratepayers did not have to endure undue hardship. The new valuations were calculated to reflect the property market as at October 1, 2009, and will take effect from July. Objections can be lodged with DERM until May 6.

* For a full breakdown of land values by suburb-by-suburb visit www.northerntimes.com.au.

Climate change

Peter McMahon and John Davis, from the School of Sustainability at Murdoch University, told the West Australian last week that the recent storm that wreaked havoc in and around Perth provided some important lessons, reminding us that as economic development accelerates and our climate changes, we will face increasing threats of bad weather. We will have to adapt to the new conditions.

Perth has had storms before, but now the intensity and frequency of storms is predicted to increase as a result of global warming. They showed evidence that Perth's weather is changing stated that the recent fierce storm in Perth left 160,000 homes without electricity and that there were thousands of calls to the State Emergency Service. They said that we must bolster emergency services and make our critical transport, energy and communications systems more robust.

The SES has pointed out that more resources are needed to deal with climate change threats. The traffic gridlock that resulted from flooding and the failure of more than 180 traffic lights showed how vulnerable our road system is, and the damage at Perth Airport indicates the vulnerability of the air transport services that make up most of our links to the Eastern States and overseas.

The need for more resilience in our transport systems is obvious. Roads and bridges, as well as the public transport system and emergency communications must be strengthened. They also pointed out the importance of a sense of community in dealing with unpredictable dangers. The growing emphasis on individualism, on money as the only meaningful value and the volatility that goes with boom times has greatly undermined neighbourliness.

The authors pointed out that an ideology favouring private over public property and low taxes has undermined attention to and investment in social and physical infrastructure. It is too late when an emergency occurs, so these things must be put in place and maintained beforehand.

Win for skate bowl kids

Young Innes Park residents are one step closer to having a skate bowl after zoning of the village's reserve was changed to accommodate the controversial project. Lea Emery reports in the News Mail this week that the Bundaberg Regional Council applied for the alteration after construction, which was approved last December, had to be put on hold.

Council successfully requested the Department of Environmental Resource Management change the reserve's zone from "reserve for park" to "reserve for park, recreation and boat ramp". Innes Park mother-of-four, Michelle Miller, welcomed the move.

"I think it is important for the kids to ride somewhere that's safe," she said. Mrs Miller said her older boys were in Bargara almost every weekend after mothers began to make special trips to the skate park there. They first asked for this in 2006," she said. However, not all residents are pleased the area has been approved for rezoning.

Bundaberg Regional councillor Greg Barnes, who voted against the skate bowl being erected on the Innes Park Reserve, said, at this stage, there was no reason for another vote to be called.

"While I don't agree with it, it is going to go ahead," he said. Cr Barnes said the next step would be for council to call for and award the tender for the design, and construct the facility.

Local councils' hardship

Local government is suffering its worst financial crisis, with one in four NSW councils on the brink of being unable to pay for services they have an obligation to provide, according to Debra Jopson in the Sydney Morning Herald on 5 April.

The president of the Shires Association, Bruce Miller, said the state government had forced councils to pick up the tab for essential services, such as health, dental, childcare, waste recycling and policing, while severely restricting their income through rate-pegging.

Mr Miller, who has just completed six weeks of meetings with regional councils, said: "Three years ago a major report found that 25 per cent of this state's councils were financially unsustainable - but it is even worse now. The only thing that has allowed us to be able to maintain our infrastructure at all was the direct funding we received from the federal government."

Funding through the Federal Roads to Recovery program and the national economic stimulus package had kept local government viable, despite the global financial crisis. But that funding would run out, he warned. At the state election next year councils would press the electorate to vote for an end to rate-pegging, Mr Miller said.

The chairman of the Country Mayors Association of NSW, Keith Rhoades, said the state Opposition Leader, Barry O'Farrell, had agreed recently to investigate an alternative local government funding method such as that used in New Zealand, in which councils submit a 10-year costed plan of infrastructure they require. Shires Association surveys have found NSW councils pay more than $430 million annually for services which should be provided by other levels of government. This equated to 6 per cent of local government income, Mr Miller said.

Regional councils footed the bills for services which, in the city, fell to the state government, including establishing health clinics for which they levied little or no rent, he said. For instance, Gilgandra Shire Council, in the central west, paid to set up an aged-care centre and dental surgery, services which had never previously been the responsibility of local government, Mr Miller said.

Country councils were "bending over backwards" to lure and keep health workers, the mayor of Weddin Shire, Maurice Simpson, said. "We provide a home and surgery to the doctor and get $50 a week out of it, and they don't mow the lawns or cart the garbage away. Even for that, we don't get [government] assistance," he said.

Several councils, including Wentworth Shire in the south-west, were hiring security guards and spending money on lights and cameras in their town centres to compensate for a shortfall in police numbers, Mr Miller said.

Barbara Perry, said the state government monitored the finances of all NSW councils and there was no evidence to support claims of a crisis.

"Rate-pegging has been protecting ratepayers from excessive and unjustified rate increases for over 30 years," she said. Councils had a responsibility to deliver services within their allocated budgets and they could apply to vary their rates for particular projects, she said.

Journey beyond Road Trauma online community

Behind every fatality and serious injury statistic there are thousands of stories. Around 1,600 people die on Australian roads each year and another 140 people are seriously injured every day, requiring ongoing care. Thousands more are affected by road trauma through their work in the emergency services, legal professions and disability sector.

Journey Beyond Road Trauma is a 'one-of-a-kind' online social network for those affected by road trauma, and has had people from all over the country joining up, demonstrating a huge need in the Australian community.

By joining Journey beyond Road Trauma, people can tell their story and connect with each other. Under the guidance of road safety experts, the community can channel their grief into positive action by collectively campaigning for road safety and showing support for one another.

www.journeybeyondroadtrauma.org