More than 200 local government leaders and road safety experts from around Australia and overseas converged in Margaret River this week to discuss how councils can help address the national road toll.
The 2024 National Local Roads, Transport and Infrastructure Congress, hosted by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), had a major focus on road safety reforms and reducing fatalities and injuries on local roads.
The two-day event featured leading experts and government officials discussing solutions and innovations around infrastructure, transport and roads.
This year’s Congress also covered community infrastructure, renewable energy, emergency management, emissions reduction, active transport, aviation innovations and transitioning to a circular economy.
Keynote speakers at the event included ALGA President, Mayor Matt Burnett; Federal Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Senator Bridget McKenzie; Coordinator-General for National Emergency Management, Brendan Moon and Institute for Sensible Transport Director, Dr Elliot Fishman. Other speakers include CSIRO Senior Principal Research Scientist, Andrew Higgins; Hales North Director, Sara Hales and microFleet® Chief Executive Officer, Al Reid.
Mr Reid spoke about the challenges and opportunities local government face in the rapidly growing micromobility sector, and showcased OneDock, an Australian-made universal smart dock that automatically locks, charges and facilitates sharing of any e-scooter, e-bike, e-trike or e-quadricycle.
Docks (pictured, right) are modular and can be connected in series to form docking stations of any size and with flexible layouts. They can be fixed to the ground, housed inside secure containers or lockers, or mounted on mobile platforms and quickly relocated to match variable charging demand.
An international delegation from Pacific Island countries also attended the Congress as guests of the Australian Government through the Infrastructure Fellowships and Engagement Program (IFEP).
These delegates were from Papua New Guinea; Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa and the Solomon Islands.
