THE Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has registered its disappointment over the failure of the Turnbull government to appoint a road safety minister in its new Cabinet.

However, the automotive safety watchdog has welcomed the return of two ministers in portfolios they had held prior to the election.

ANCAP chief executive officer James Goodwin said the authority was pleased to see Darren Chester and Paul Fletcher both reconfirmed in their Cabinet roles.

Mr Chester will resume his position as minister for infrastructure and transport, while Paul Fletcher will take on the revised portfolio of minister for urban infrastructure.

“We are pleased to see Mr Chester and Mr Fletcher return to their ministerial roles and we hope this provides stability and certainty to ANCAP, and more generally, road safety,” Mr Goodwin said.

But Mr Goodwin added that the failure of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to appoint a dedicated road safety minister was a let-down.

“Stronger attention must be focused on road safety strategies at a coordinated, national level to reverse the current upward trend in road deaths.

“We call on the new government to immediately review the effectiveness of the current National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) and show national leadership in the area of road safety,” Mr Goodwin said.

Only the day before the prime minister revealed his new cabinet line-up, ANCAP and several other agencies had made a plea for the appointment of a dedicated minister for road safety.

ANCAP was joined in the plea by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), the peak body for the state motoring clubs, and the Australian College of Road Safety (ACRS).

The three bodies pointed out that road deaths were on the rise, according to figures compiled by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional economics.

“In the year to June 2016, there have been 643 deaths – 63 more than the same period last year,” said AAA chief executive Michael Bradley.

“Road deaths in 2015 were also up by 56 over 2014 figures.”

He called for a greater government effort to achieve the goals laid out in the National Road Safety Strategy, which had been signed by all Australian governments.

The Strategy calls for a reduction of 30 per cent in all road deaths and trauma between 2010 and 2020.

“Clearly we are heading in the wrong direction and there is the need for the federal government to lead in the development of policies to deliver safer drivers, safer cars, and safer roads.”

Mr Bradley said the idea of a dedicated minister for road safety was not a new concept and that it could not be ignored any longer if Australia was to regain the momentum it had achieved two years ago.

While road safety was largely a matter for state governments, the president of the ACRS, Lauchlan McIntosh, said it needed national leadership and responsibility.

“Aside from the very personal impact road trauma has on families and first responders, it is estimated to cost the national economy more than $27 billion per year,” he said.

“This is a national social and economic crisis which requires a cooperative effort from all governments under strong national leadership.”

A joint release from the three bodies has quoted the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that says land transport crashes are the number one killer for children up to 14 years, the second biggest killer of those aged 15 to 24 and the third biggest killer of 25 to 44-year-olds.

By Ian Porter