Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Regional and rural roads

Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (14:21): My question is for the Premier. Many of Victoria’s rural and regional roads are in a poor condition. They have suffered significant damage and repairs are desperately needed. Even major highways such the Goulburn Valley Highway and the Hume Freeway between Shepparton and Melbourne have significant areas of road damage, with potholes not usually seen on roads of such national importance. We have seen how successful a major blitz such as the removal of level crossings in Melbourne over the past eight years has been and how welcome that has been for the communities that have benefited. Premier, my question is: if re-elected, would your government commit to a major rural and regional roads repair blitz?

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:22): I thank the member for Shepparton for her question and for her advocacy—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Warrandyte is warned—second warning.

Mr ANDREWS: The member for Shepparton has asked a question, a very important question. The member for Warrandyte would desperately like to answer a question but we have all been spared that for a while, which is very, very good. He might know the youth unemployment rate by now, but in any event if the member for Warrandyte might—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr ANDREWS: Well, we are well into question time. One wonders why the member for Warrandyte is still here. Normally he would have been ejected by now. The question is important, and if I can get past the member for Warrandyte’s inane interjections, I will try and answer it.

Mr R Smith interjected.

The SPEAKER: The member for Warrandyte can leave the chamber for the period of 1 hour.

Member for Warrandyte withdrew from chamber.

Mr ANDREWS: Small victories. Road funding is very important, and that is why I can say to the member for Shepparton that we have made consistent road funding each year, every year across regional Victoria a priority. And that is exactly what we have delivered.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Eildon is warned.

Mr ANDREWS: To give you an example, $780 million was invested in the 2022–23 Victorian budget for maintaining road assets in the coming financial year. So those who have lots of views—not the member for Shepparton but others who just make lots of noise—did not do much road work when they had the chance. Go and read the budget before you start offering up your wisdom, your pearls of wisdom, when it comes to road maintenance: $780 million in the 2022–23 Victorian budget for road maintenance—that is of course in stark contrast to an average of less than $500 million under the government we were happy to take over from; 1500 kilometres of repair works across the state as part of our seasonal and regional road maintenance blitz in June this year; signage; other maintenance programs; hundreds, indeed thousands, of staff; the Murchison-Tatura Road, to give you one example among many in the local community represented by the member for Shepparton. 1100 maintenance and renewal projects have been delivered on the state’s regional roads since September last year. Now, there are many more that I could list and detail. The point that I will make, though, despite—

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: The National Party—so lost now—did not do much when they were in government.

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: Well, I am not so much focused on roads in Ukraine. I am focused on roads right here in Victoria. I fully concede there will be more to do, and we are the government to do it.

Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (14:25): Premier, having committed to the importance of the maintenance and repair of regional roads, will you actively seek a commitment from the new federal Labor government to partner with your government for the building of our major road project in my electorate, the Shepparton bypass?

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:26): It is a very important project. I was out with the Prime Minister yesterday in the south-eastern suburbs, and it is great to have a Prime Minister who—

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: Well, you know, he has got one ministry and everyone knows who is in it. There is no secret minister for roads. There is a minister for roads and infrastructure, and they are getting on and doing things. And I would say to the member for Shepparton—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for South-West Coast is warned.

Mr ANDREWS: I would say to the member for Shepparton—she is a passionate advocate for Shepparton—we have delivered the hospital, rail upgrades, road upgrades and the school upgrade there, one of the most amazing educational precincts in our nation. We have done planning. We have done lots of work in partnership with the member for Shepparton on the bypass. I hope that she and I can advocate to the new commonwealth government, a commonwealth government that wants to get things done, for that project and maybe other projects. We are part of that project in the planning work. In fact every dollar that has been spent on that project has come from our government, not pretenders who just lost government in Canberra. Let us work with them to see if we can get things done.