Thursday, 2 November 2023

Members statements

Bridgewater Road, Portland

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (09:34): If you have driven along the ring-road in Portland and gone under the Bridgewater Road overpass, you do not need much common sense to realise that a roundabout would not work here, yet that is what the state Labor government has put forward as an option – rip out the overpass and put in a dangerous roundabout. They have been seeking community feedback on this idea, so let me make it clear why this proposal is dangerous and why it should be scrapped immediately, before another cent is wasted.

The overpass was constructed to keep trucks away from local traffic. The ring-road now sees an average of 100 trucks per hour travelling along it. That is more than one truck per minute. Why would removing this separation even be considered by the government as an option? Numerous members of the community have come to me to say that a roundabout would result in a tragedy and that the government need to be up-front about the options, costings and safety reports rather than coming back with a decision they have already made, as the community suspects is happening in this case. We have seen time and time again under Labor that so-called community consultation is not actual consultation, it is just a facade of listening when the real decision has already been made. I have spoken with the Committee for Portland, Keppel Prince and numerous other businesses, who all oppose a roundabout. Their advice is that a roundabout is unsafe, unnecessary and not value for money. Quite simply, the Labor state government and their bureaucrats in Melbourne must scrap the roundabout option now, not next year after they have spent hundreds of thousands on planning, not once the roundabout is built and they realise how unsafe it is. Scrap it now, and do not waste a penny more.