Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Morwell electorate

Martin CAMERON (Morwell) (14:46): (472) My constituency question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. The information I seek is why the Labor government did not raise the causeway on Tyers Road during the build of the new Latrobe River bridge. After waiting nine years for a new bridge, valley residents rightly rejoiced when it opened just before Christmas, but three weeks later it was under water again. After only moderate rainfall, the Latrobe River burst its banks, spilling over the road and flooding the causeway to the south of the bridge. It was deja vu for road users, who had been telling the Labor government for decades that a new Tyers bridge would be useless if the causeway was not raised, because it would still flood. It took 400 days to build the bridge, and still Labor could not get it right. After years of community consultation and planning, after spending $10 million on the project, we are in the same position as we were 10 years ago, with a road that still will flood and a bridge that still will be constantly shut. Minister, it is now time for you to fix this mess and deliver a Tyers bridge the residents can actually use.