Thursday, 11 September 2025

 Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (17:15): (1324) I have a matter for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety – it seems I have lots of matters for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety – and the action I seek tonight is to ensure that the rubbish that is continually dumped on roadsides, roads and highways is cleaned up. Far too often we see these piles of rubbish, which are sometimes dumped purposefully, sometimes dumped conveniently, just left on the sides of the roads. It is unsightly, and even worse, it blows away. It spreads after months and months, and it strangles our waterways, our creeks and our rivers. It is embarrassing for locals. We have international guests in many parts of my electorate who go and visit particular spots, just to see rubbish dumped everywhere.

I know that the government has cut particularly the roads budget and there is probably not a lot in the budget for it to draw on to conduct these activities, but it really does need to be done, because it has been left for so long, and the longer it is left, the worse it becomes. I get so many people continually coming to my office and talking about it. There are so many piles. Have a look where they are: the Melba Highway – there are multiple spots where there are piles; the Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road ‍– again, multiple spots; Goulburn Valley Highway; Donnybrook Road – I was there on the weekend, and on the entire length of Donnybrook Road rubbish is dumped; particular spots, probably Parks Victoria spots, at Yan Yean Reservoir; and Marysville-Woods Point Road, at the lookout there. There are so many spots where there are not rubbish bins, and there are other spots where this purposefully dumped rubbish is just left.

The Department of Transport and Planning can actually get on with it. When you send a letter to the minister, things miraculously get done. But this needs to be an ongoing effort to clean up our roadsides. It is bad enough that we have animal carcases from roadkill everywhere, but now we have got rubbish as well littering the roadsides. The tip costs are so expensive. People tend to dump building materials, rubble and bags of rubbish or just unload a tip. I am sure, Speaker, you see it in your electorate as well. You will see piles of rubbish. Someone has backed up a trailer, boom, tipped it out, and there you go. The Yarra Valley farmland in Murrindindi and snowfields around Mansfield – people go to these spots, and they just do not want to see rubbish dumped.

I implore the minister to do the right thing for the environment and to make sure the Department of Transport and Planning actually gets on with the job and cleans up the mess, because there is just more and more, and I am sick of the complaints and having to look at it myself.