Council
21 March, 2024
MP calls on end to road safety funding slash
A SOUTH west MP has called for the immediate reversal to road safety funding cuts imposed to address the increasing death toll on Victorian roads.
Lowan MP Emma Kealy said there had been a 24 per cent increase in road fatalities from the previous year, the highest death toll in 15 years.
Ms Kealy said, significantly, 174 of the tragic incidents occurred on regional roads which highlighted “even more evidence of the disproportionate risk being faced by regional and rural communities”.
“The Victorian Government has cut the road maintenance budget by 45 per cent since 2020 and are directly responsible for the deteriorating road conditions we are seeing across the state,” she said.
“The result of these cuts is glaringly evident, with increasingly unsafe road surfaces, potholes, steep drop-offs and general substandard road repairs posing a risk to every Victorian driver every day.”
Ms Kealy said she was also aware of incidents in which vehicles had sustained “significant damage,” however, the repair costs fell short of the high reimbursement threshold.
“The cost of repairs has been below the $1580 threshold for damage claims, leaving these people with a $1000 or more repair bill and no reimbursement available,” she said.
“With the current cost of living crisis in Victoria, these people are being forced to bear the financial burden of the repair cost, when many are already struggling financially to meet the basis daily needs of their families.
“People who experience vehicle damage due to the condition of the roads, which is no fault of their own, should all be compensated regardless of the cost of the damage.”
Ms Kealy said the State Government had also cut a staggering $230 million from road safety programs in the past two years, including a $150 million reduction in the TAC-funded safer system roads and infrastructure program and an $81 million shortfall in the TAC marketing and road safety budget.
“It is clear that we are facing a critical safety crisis on our roads, and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that immediate action is necessary to reverse this distressing trend," she said.
“The lives of our community members are at stake.
“Labor can’t manage money and Victorians are paying the price by being forced to drive on unsafe roads and having to dip into their own pockets to pay for the vehicle damage that these roads are causing.”