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Deteriorating finances leads to neglect of road upkeep by Andrews Labor government with maintenance goals remaining undisclosed

Melina Bath, Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, criticises poor roads, blames Andrews government's ineffective fixes and insufficient funding, citing rising accidents and neglect of regional areas.

By news@gippsland - 15th August 2023 - Back to News

Road resurfacing and maintenance activities have been all but abandoned by the Andrews government as Victoria's financial woes worsen. Roads performance measures in the 2023-2024 budget continue to be "to be confirmed", with the state government refusing to divulge the actual target. The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath said her electorate was home to some of the state's worst roads.

Melina Bath reveals road issues in Eastern Victoria - potholes, crumbling edges, M1 Princes Highway problems. Criticises inadequate fixes, Andrews government's financial challenges

Neglected roads crisis

Ms Bath said, "There are potholes, crumbling road sides and compromised surfaces in almost every town and suburb in Eastern Victoria - the M1 Princes Highway from Gippsland to Pakenham is a disgrace, along with the C class roads relied on by commuters and the transport industry. Labor's pothole patching program is cheap, temporary, and totally ineffective. The Andrews government is drowning in debt from its Melbourne centric bungled big build and it's scrambling to cut a dollar from anywhere."

Ms Bath said road users often explain their frustrations, reiterating that regional roads are neither safe nor car worthy, and sadly this is confirmed in road crash statistics. "The financial cost of poor road maintenance is huge - blown tyres, broken rims and in worse case scenarios, major collisions and personal injury caused by loss of control," she said.

Road funding commitment

The TAC statistics show lives lost in 2023 is already up 25 percent, with a whopping 60 percent of these deaths occurring outside of Melbourne in provincial towns, and on rural roads. "The Nationals are concerned at the over representation of fatalities on country roads."

"At the last election we made a commitment to fund 10 billion dollars over 10 years on road maintenance - The Nationals understand our roads desperately need proper maintenance and investment over a prolonged period. If the Andrews government believed its own Towards Zero message it would prioritise roads outside the CBD, instead of blowing billions on cancelled contracts and consultants.

"The overwhelming majority of drivers do everything they can do to arrive at their destination safely. It's a shocking indictment that Labor is budgeting less on our road maintenance now than 10 years ago - when you factor in inflation, its track records are disgraceful," Ms Bath said.

Pictures from Melina Bath MP Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com