Tuesday, 14 November 2023

 Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (14:51): (417) My constituency question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. Minister, how will the 10-year road maintenance strategy be implemented to improve roads across the state, with a particular focus on my electorate of Monbulk? The district of Monbulk encompasses the vast majority of the Dandenong Ranges, which is a unique part of our state. The roads are fairly narrow and cannot be widened further in most places owing to the topography of the area. The rainfall is much higher than in many other parts of Victoria. Indeed, Ferny Creek was the wettest part of Greater Melbourne last year, with annual rainfall of 1606.4 millimetres. Monbulk itself was not far behind, with 1523.6 millimetres – and compare that to Melbourne, which only received 699.4 last year. Although the alpine areas of the state receive far more rain, they do not have a similar population living and travelling along their road network, so the roads in my electorate are subject to wear and tear from thousands of cars and trucks – (Time expired)