Roadside vegetation
Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (18:19): (1727) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to urgently review and update the tree cut height limit on major Victorian roads. My constituent Matt reached out recently with concerns over the safety of the current cut height limits on highways such as the Murray Valley Highway in Northern Victoria Region. Matt runs a transport company doing oversize loads. For the last 10 to 15 years he has had numerous issues avoiding overgrown, overhanging trees on the main roads he must use to transport loads. Matt has had numerous conversations with VicRoads and Regional Roads Victoria regarding the cut height limits. The cut height limit currently stands at 5 metres and recut at 4.5 metres. Transport height limits have been adjusted at least once every decade for the past 40 years, yet in that time the cut height limits have not been adjusted to coincide with these changes. This has caused numerous incidents of damage to trucks and cargo. In most cases transport companies are left to foot the bill for the damage to trucks and cargo. In one horrific case witnessed by Matt a sheep raised its head as the stock crate went under a low-hanging branch, causing the animal to be pulled out of the crate, landing on the road. Stock crates are allowed to travel at a height of 4.7 metres, which is above the current re-cut height for trees along the roads. This poses a danger not only to the trucks and stock but also to other motorists on the road, with the very real possibility of branches coming down onto following vehicles and causing a hazard on our roads. The action I seek is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety to urgently review and update the tree cut-height limit on major Victorian roads.