Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Princes Highway West

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (19:06): (823) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to formally publish how the previously allocated funding for the Princes Highway West has been spent. In a recent news article the minister was quoted claiming the Princes Highway does not fall within her jurisdiction but that she will continue to advocate for much-needed funding. I want to speak today to set the record straight because that is simply not true. The Princes Highway is absolutely within the minister’s jurisdiction, and the minister has had more than enough time and opportunity to do something about the appalling condition of the road; instead the minister is trying to dodge responsibility by misleading the public, and it is downright unacceptable.

The Princes Highway is defined as a National Land Transport Network road and as such receives joint funding from both the state and the federal governments where the state government is responsible for maintaining the road to an appropriate standard. Back in 2019 the federal Liberal government allocated $60 million to upgrade the Port Fairy to Warrnambool section of the Princes Highway, with an additional $80 million committed to further improvements along the Princes Highway West. The federal Liberal government committed 80 per cent of this money, leaving the state with just 20 per cent of funding responsibility. It was only after relentless advocacy from me and the local community that the state Labor government finally agreed to contribute their share, and so the money for the upgrades was finally allocated. However, the question remains: where exactly has this money gone? While there have been some bridges strengthened in Dennington to increase the capacity for heavy vehicles, the appalling state of the road in places like Illowa makes it hard to understand where exactly the millions of promised dollars to upgrade the road have been spent.

The road conditions remain dangerous and unacceptable, and the improvements we were promised by this state Labor government are nowhere to be seen. It is difficult to escape the suspicion that this money may have been diverted elsewhere, likely to major blowout projects like the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne, rather than addressing the needs of regional Victoria. For the Labor state Minister for Roads and Road Safety to claim that fixing the Princes Highway is not her responsibility is a disgrace and outright misleading. She has had $140 million in funds from the federal Liberal government and 20 per cent from the state, which is a total of $168 million, to fix the road, so the minister has had both the funds and the authority to act. The community deserves better, and the taxpayers deserve to know where their money is being spent. Passing the buck on such crucial issues is not only misleading but an insult to the people who rely on this road for their daily lives and their livelihoods.