Thursday, 4 May 2023

Northern Victoria Region

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (12:45): (150) My constituency question is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety regarding the school crossing supervisor program. I had a meeting at the Strathbogie shire recently with my lower house colleague Annabelle Cleeland. The shire said they can no longer deliver this important service because they have to fund around 62 per cent of this state government program, and it was costing rate payers $50,000 a year. It seems the system is broken. In 2016 the Victorian government committed to undertaking a strategic review of the school crossing program. The findings were due in 2018, but nothing has happened since. I ask what action the government is taking to ensure the safety of local schoolkids in the Strathbogie shire and across the state and that it provide an update on the findings of the review. The ratepayers of Strathbogie, along with 28 other councils, want to see a restoration of funding for this critical service, and I call on the minister to provide this funding in the state budget.