Tuesday, 17 February 2026

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (14:04): My constituency question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. Will the minister guarantee that the recently announced safety upgrades to Main Street in Rutherglen will be complete before the Roam Rutherglen winery walkabout in June? Following many years of local advocacy and two major accidents on Main Street in 2024, one of which tragically claimed the life of a 77-year-old local woman, the state government finally agreed to improve safety on Main Street. The works did not commence until last week, which I welcome, but I note that the Labor government has chosen to do the work during the busiest months of Rutherglen’s tourist season. Tastes of Rutherglen will take place in March, and in April tourists will flock to the beautiful town for the Easter long weekend. Ongoing roadworks will be highly disruptive to local businesses and visitor movements during these major events. The work is expected to take 16 weeks to complete, and if there are any delays, it could significantly impact Rutherglen’s tourism.