Tuesday, 27 May 2025

Western Victoria Region

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (13:07): (1591) My question to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety concerns the restriction on road trains, which is costing Victorian farmers dearly during this drought. This problem is fixable at the stroke of a pen if the minister acts with urgency. Currently hauliers carting fodder from New South Wales must drop their third trailer at Echuca, deliver their double load, then return and repeat the whole journey. It adds 700 kilometres to each delivery to my constituents in Western Victoria. At $6 per kilometre, that equates to $4200 per load extra. That is thousands extra for every single delivery, real costs for struggling farmers fighting to keep cattle alive, hundreds of trucks a week and hundreds of farms. It is not even saving the roads. Triples mean fewer trips, lower emissions and less wear and tear. This is emergency relief that will not cost the government a cent and is practical and short term. After the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund debacle, will the minister fix this?