For too long, the Commonwealth government has placed the responsibility of reducing road deaths and injuries firmly in the laps of state and local governments, says Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Christine Milne.

"Today, the Greens will address the needless deaths on our roads with the launch of our ‘Towards Zero' national road safety strategy.

"Our strategy aims to radically reduce road deaths through joint, cooperative actions between all government tiers, advocacy groups and road users.

Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Christine Milne is calling on the Federal government to allocate funding for Tasmanian road safety measures from today's budget.

"Despite 2009 being a shocking year on our roads with 64 needless deaths, the Federal government in their last budget gave not a single cent for improving safety on our roads. That's nothing at all from a $22 billion infrastructure package.

"I am therefore hopeful that Mr Swan has looked at the figures; observed that road deaths in Tasmania raised 73 percent on the previous year compared with a national average of just 4.1 percent, and is intending to allocate funds accordingly.

The Greens have congratulated the City of Perth for its far-sighted vision for the city, with its emphasis on light rail, pedestrians and public open space – but they warn that the State Government has so far failed to match actions with rhetoric on light rail.

The Greens would only agree to a tax being imposed on motorists to reduce congestion in Perth and other Australian cities if public transport, cycling and walking facilities are dramatically improved.