Rural Councils Victoria (RCV) is welcoming the Victorian Opposition’s big-spending plan to fix county roads which was unveiled today by leader, Jess Wilson.
Ms Wilson’s (pictured) Victorian Liberal Party has pledged to spend $5 billion over the term of the next parliament on road repairs and maintenance across the state.
Announcing the policy on day 23 of the Liberals and Nationals’ Fresh Start Tour of Victoria, Ms Wilson said the condition of Victoria’s roads was “a daily reminder of Labor’s mismanagement and a rapidly growing cost of living concern for motorists”.
“While $15 billion has been lost to corruption on the Big Build, our roads are littered with dangerous potholes that are causing untold damage to vehicles – leaving motorists thousands of dollars out of pocket,” Ms Wilson said.
“Drivers shouldn’t be the ones footing the bill for blown tyres, cracked rims and worse because Jacinta Allan and Labor cannot get the basics right.
“Only my Liberals and Nationals team has a plan to repair and rebuild Victoria’s roads, to eliminate one million potholes and deliver a government that works.”
RCV says, however, it is unclear how much of the promised $5 billion would be spent on country roads specifically, or how much would be allocated to councils for local road repairs and upgrades.
It said the pledge appears to fall short of RCV’s call for an extra $2 billion over four years for country roads specifically, bringing total statewide roads expenditure closer to $6 billion.
However, RCV Deputy Chair and Corangamite Shire Councilor, Kate Makin said the Opposition’s roads pledge is what Victoria needs.
“Anybody living in country Victoria knows our roads are in an atrocious state,” Cr Makin said.
“Shoddy roads are death traps. They also damage cars, cost money, deter tourists and increase freight costs.”
“We don’t need tinkering or top-ups. We need a real and sustained increase in roads spending.”
“This plan appears to be on the right track.”
Cr Makin said Rural Councils Victoria will be seeking more detail on key elements of the package.
“How much will be going to metropolitan Melbourne, and how much will be going to country roads specifically?” she said
“We want to make sure rural Victoria gets its fair share of this funding package.”
“Part of this will be the newly established Better Roads Victoria sharing data and working more closely with local councils on roads matters.”
Cr Makin also said RCV is still waiting to see the Coalition’s plan for regional bridge repairs in country areas.
