Wednesday, 27 November 2024

Road maintenance

Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. Last week the RACV told 774 Melbourne that Labor is wrong to continually blame the floods for the state of the roads and that the problem with the floods argument is:

We’re seeing potholes across metropolitan Melbourne as well as country roads. And it’s not just your back roads; it’s the Goulburn Valley Freeway, it’s the Princes Freeway, it’s the Western Highway, but it’s … St Kilda Road. It’s across Melbourne as well.

When will the government stop blaming the weather and fix our roads?

Melissa HORNE (Williamstown – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Roads and Road Safety) (14:46): Once again I thank the member for – oh, actually the new Leader of the Nationals. Congratulations. That is the first episode of the podcast Take Me to Your Leader. Can I just say I really, really welcome these questions because they give us an opportunity to reiterate again and again and again the $964 million we are spending –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Mildura can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Mildura withdrew from chamber.

Melissa HORNE: on our road network. Seventy per cent of this is going into regional roads, and then 30 per cent of this $964 million is going into repairing, rehabilitating and resurfacing our roads across metropolitan Melbourne. We have got crews out there now working hard because now is road maintenance season. It starts in October, it goes through until about May and we are getting about $2.6 million out the door every single day to repair, rehabilitate, reseal –

Members interjecting.

Melissa HORNE: They are. They are out there now, those men and women, across Victoria.

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is debating the question. She is saying that the contractors are out there now, but PAEC was told last week that 15 contracts have not yet gone out at all.

The SPEAKER: I think you are referring to facts. I cannot determine the facts of a question or an answer.

Melissa HORNE: As you can appreciate, we do have contractors out there across all parts of the network that are, as I said, rehabilitating, resealing and resurfacing our road network.

Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (14:48): The RACV also said that:

… the reality is there’s just not enough money being spent to resurface and rehabilitate the road network.

Why is Labor prioritising funding for the Suburban Rail Loop ahead of fixing our road network?

Melissa HORNE (Williamstown – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Roads and Road Safety) (14:48): I ‍think that the contributions from both the Premier and the Minister for Transport Infrastructure have more than adequately addressed this government’s commitment to the Suburban Rail Loop. However, what I would say is that with our $964 million, nearly $1 billion, being spent on roads across the state, building on 10 years worth of sustained investment, we are rehabilitating, resurfacing and repaving our roads.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Tarneit, how did you get back in the chamber? You can leave for an hour.

Member for Tarneit withdrew from chamber.