Gippsland › Latest news › Danny O'Brien MP

Media reveal minimal Victorian road resurfacing for 2023 highlighting Andrews Labor government mismanagement in regional areas

Danny O'Brien, Shadow Minister for Roads, criticised a 45% roads maintenance budget cut since 2020, including 25% this year. No road resurfacing contracts raise concerns. Deterioration worsens without action.

By news@gippsland - 14th August 2023 - Back to News

Revelations in the media today that there will be virtually no Victorian road resurfacing program this financial year are an indictment on the Andrews government's continuing financial mismanagement. Victorians are well aware that our roads have deteriorated dramatically in the past few years and regional Victoria, in particular, is bearing the brunt of repeated roads budget cuts and neglect from the government.

Zero road resurfacing contracts this year signal concern. Absence of maintenance accelerates road deterioration, raising alarms for all Victorians

Road budget cuts

Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O'Brien, said a 45 percent cut to the roads maintenance budget from 2020, including a further 25 percent cut in this year's budget was hurting Victorian motorists. "The report today that no contracts for road resurfacing have gone to tender this year should ring alarm bells for all Victorians."

"Without a resurfacing and resealing program, the deterioration of our roads will only accelerate. We know our roads are in a dire state, especially after the floods last year, yet the Andrews Labor government is cutting road maintenance, not increasing it. It beggars belief," Mr O'Brien said.

Rural road frustration

Mr O'Brien said it was no surprise that country people were taking matters into their own hands and spray-painting messages to "fix our roads" on badly potholed road sections. "I recently saw such graffiti on a road in northern Victoria and bizarrely a reference to VicRoads had been crudely blacked over but the road itself hadn't been fixed. It seems the government is more interested in public relations than doing its job."

"The budget papers released in May listed the road area to be resurfaced across metropolitan and regional Victoria as "tbc". Maybe they just meant 'terribly bad condition'," Mr O'Brien said.

Pictures from Melina Bath MP Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com