The Liberal Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell, has used the first sitting week of State Parliament to blast the Victorian government on the current condition of roads in regional Victoria.

Speaking during the adjournment debate to the new Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, Ms Lovell described the condition of Victoria’s regional road network as “deplorable” and laid the blame squarely at the feet of Labor’s chronic underinvestment in road maintenance over the last eight years.

Ms Lovell said that the government had never prioritised the maintenance and safety of regional roads, evidenced by the scrapping of the Liberal Nationals Coalition’s Country Roads and Bridges Program upon winning government in 2014. The program provided $160 million to 40 small regional councils and shires to maintain and repair local roads.

Ms Lovell said the poor condition of regional roads had even caused high-ranking public servants from Victoria Police and the Department of Transport to publicly speak out.

In a Weekly Times article ‘Broken roads frustrating’ dated 25 January 2023, Victoria Police Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner, Glenn Weir, was quoted as saying “officers were constantly alerting road authorities or local councils to the parlous condition of Victoria’s road network”.

In the same article, Chief, Regional Transport for the Department of Transport, Paul Northey, was quoted as saying “there was a current shortfall in money available for regional road repair.”

Ms Lovell called on Minister Horne to unveil her plan to fix Victoria’s regional roads and match or better the Coalition’s election commitment of at least $1 billion a year for the next ten years to complete the intensive maintenance program required.

“Road users must ensure their cars are roadworthy but sadly our roads are not roadworthy because of the chronic lack of funding from the government since their election in 2014,” Ms Lovell added.

This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 16 February 2023.