Thursday, 19 March 2026

 Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (12:56): (2252) My constituency question is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and it concerns the not-happening duplication of the Western Highway between Buangor and Ararat. This is not something that has just fallen off the back of a truck as a new idea; it has been around for 13 years. For 13 years it has not been delivered. It is actually quite concerning because this particular stretch of road is notorious for fatalities. It is such a concern that even the Labor member for Ripon has raised it but of course cannot deliver, because country roads are not a priority for the Labor government. My question to the minister is: when will you give the community an answer to when this will actually come to fruition? We are sick and tired of waiting for a road that has not been built and has been promised for so long.