Thursday, 20 February 2025

Rural and regional roads

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (18:12): (1448) My adjournment is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, following the closure of the Calder Freeway on Tuesday. The freeway and surrounding roads became the set of an action movie starring Liam Neeson and were closed until 10 pm. What is interesting to note is that the potholes were fixed ahead of the closure to ensure that the film crew had a smooth surface. It is disappointing that it takes an international movie star filming an action movie to get the government to take action fixing our roads.

Nationals leader Danny O’Brien recently launched the ‘Potholes for all seasons’ calendar, and if the minister has misplaced her copy, it can be downloaded for free at www.potholepics.com/download. Roads in regional Victoria are vitally important, as they connect our state and they are the conduit for the transport of goods and services across the region, but I have received photos from across the region from residents who see the condition of our roads – and they are falling apart.

This year Victoria recorded 33 road deaths in the first 30 days of the year, and regional deaths have outpaced metropolitan fatalities every single year over the past decade. According to research undertaken by ACM, accounting for population, Victoria’s country roads are arguably deadlier than those of New South Wales, despite New South Wales having nearly double the regional population. I quote an article from the Bendigo Advertiser of 5 February. It reported that ACM have done some recent analysis about the factors that make regional Victorian roads so much deadlier than Melbourne’s, with higher speed limits, longer distances and poorer road surfaces contributing. Last year the government’s road maintenance budget was 16 per cent less than it was four years ago.

It is not just Hollywood stars that need smooth surfaces to drive on. It is mums and dads. It is learner drivers. It is those on their P-plates. It is our farmers transporting produce. It is truck drivers transporting freight. It is individuals travelling to work. It is the bus driver on the school route. Road funding will be in the spotlight at this year’s state budget, and the action I seek is for the government to take action to fix regional roads.