Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Northern Victoria Region roads

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (18:15): (407) My adjournment is for the attention of the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to prioritise the repair of flood-damaged, potholed and crumbling roads across northern Victoria. On the Bendigo-Sutton Grange Road in Elphinstone, a popular road that connects Bendigo to the Calder Freeway to Melbourne, a stationary traffic light has been positioned to facilitate a single lane of traffic to cross a bridge damaged in the floods last October. It is one of many spots across northern Victoria still waiting for roadworks to be done. As I drive across the region there are still many uneven roads with deep potholes in need of repair, and the only work done in the past 10 months has been to put up signs reducing the speed limit to 40 and advising ‘Rough surface’.

Victorians are expected to drive roadworthy vehicles, and a record $2.5 billion was collected from vehicle registration in the past year, so we expect the state government to provide roads that are safe to drive on. Hidden bumps and potholes are extremely dangerous for motorcyclists. In the last five years almost 200 motorcycle riders and pillion passengers have been killed on Victorian roads – 78 per cent were in regional Victoria. At a meeting of the Loddon Campaspe group of councils last week a point was made that just one overpass built in Melbourne would be enough to repair flood-damaged roads across the whole of the Loddon shire.

During the Public Accounts and Estimate Committee hearings my Nationals colleague Danny O’Brien rightly pointed out that two major state government road programs worth more than $750 million will only roll out in Labor seats. The road blitz to get families home sooner and safer scheme and delivering the better local roads program will provide some nice upgrades for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians in Melbourne, but in regional areas road upgrades are a necessity. Everywhere I go in regional Victoria residents raise concerns about the poor condition of the roads, yet Labor has cut the road maintenance funding by 45 per cent since 2020. Only $165 million was provided in emergency funding to repair flood-damaged roads across the state, and when you consider the damage to bridges and roads across the region, it is simply not enough.

Regional roads are the lifeblood of our state. Victoria needs a great road network to connect our state, transport food supplies to the city, deliver feed to stock, enable businesses to operate and get employees to work, our kids to school and families home safe. It is nearly 12 months since the floods, and while the state government power ahead with their level crossing removals in the city, regional areas are still waiting for basic repairs to flood-damaged roads. I ask the minister to prioritise repairs to flood-damaged roads and to allocate more funding for road maintenance in rural and regional areas.