Roads

The Victorian Treasurer Jaclyn Symes MP handed down the State Budget on Tuesday 20 May and it is now available for public scrutiny — it is presented more like an illustrated, online brochure than a spreadsheet. It came after the government sent a flurry of announcement emails to the media (evidently scheduled one-per-minute over the Tuesday lunchtime period).

Cr Crash Downward has queried the impact of a 5 per cent rate rise on the district’s farmers already paying thousands of dollars each week to feed their livestock. Naracoorte Lucindale Council relies on the district’s farming families to fund around 60 per cent of its proposed $12.726m rate revenue. An average 5 per cent rate rise is projected by the council’s administration as part of a draft 2025-26 budget and business plan.

Yamba Road will see $20 million in improvements in the next few years to improve flood immunity and redirect a potentially dangerous section of the only direct thoroughfare from the M1 motorway into town. As the Clarence River levels rose … the only artery servicing deliveries to, and disposals from, Yamba, was first cut, as it is traditionally, west of Palmers Channel at the Southbank Road intersection.

An independent roadworks report, which found the Naracoorte Lucindale Council only met four of 15 key performance indicators, also found the ire of outgoing CEO Trevor Smart. After winning a $68,000 tender from five other applicants with higher and lower quotes, Wheaton Enterprises—a highly qualified construction and civil engineering firm—praised the participation of the council’s outdoor field and administration staff in its 89-page report.

Darren Davis and Ben Hood. For many decades our regional roads have been our most dangerous. Between 2017-2021 67 per cent of road users killed or seriously injured have been from our regional areas. These groups have typically been formed by families who lost loved ones. Due to lack of support, lack of funds and lack of mentorship from road safety stakeholders, Volunteer Community Road Safety Group numbers have declined rapidly during the last decade with regions such as the South East losing all of its groups.