Tuesday, 10 May 2022

Members statements

Echuca–Moama bridge

Ms LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (14:32): On 10 and 11 April it was fantastic to participate in two events to celebrate the opening of the new Echuca–Moama bridge. On Sunday, 10 April, the community saw 8000 people participate in a walk across the bridge, and on Monday, 11 April, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Victorian minister Jacinta Allan officially opened the new bridge. At the official opening it was announced that the bridge would be named the Dhungala Bridge, the local Indigenous name for the Murray River, and the new bridge across the Campaspe River was named the Yakoa Bridge, the local Indigenous name for the Campaspe River.

The new bridge has been a long time coming. The need for a new bridge was first mentioned by Eddie Hann in his maiden speech in September 1973. The bridge project first received funding from the Howard government as part of the Centenary of Federation funding. Three bridges were funded and construction of two of the bridges, in Robinvale and Corowa, were the responsibility of the New South Wales government, and one bridge, Echuca–Moama, was the responsibility of the Bracks government. The Robinvale and Corowa bridges were completed in the early 2000s. Unfortunately the only project allocated to the Victorian government failed to get any traction under the Bracks and Brumby Labor governments. When I was elected in November 2002 I took up the battle to get this bridge built; however, it was not until the Baillieu Liberal government was elected that the project got the attention it needed. Twelve years later it is finally completed and at last our community has the bridge it deserves.