Council
10 October, 2024
State, opposition clash on road concerns
A WAR of words has ignited as the Opposition claims Labor is abandoning its commitments to investing in regional roads, while the State Government has hit back at what it says has been a series of “disingenuous” claims.
Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell and Member for Lowan Emma Kealy joined the chorus of criticism from the Opposition over recent weeks, as scrutiny was cast over the government’s road rehabilitation delivery.
Among the most serious claims was belief the government had made the decision to “axe” Regional Roads Victoria and road repairer SprayLine Road Services, and had skimmed $1.57 million in funds from the Federal Government’s Black Spot Program Fund.
“This government is all spin and no substance,” Ms Kealy said.
“It has consistently failed to adequately invest in regional roads, which is why a government survey last year found that more than 90 per cent of roads were in a poor or very poor condition.
“Sections of the Hamilton Highway between Hamilton and Penshurst, and between Mortlake and Caramut are atrocious, and have been for several years despite repeated campaigning to make them safer.
“Our roads have never been as bad as they are now, and despite Labor’s ridiculous attempts in Parliament to do a Milli Vanilli and ‘Blame it on the Rain’, we all know that there’s only one reason our roads are so poor, and that’s Labor’s incompetence.
“Milli Vanilli were found to be frauds, and Labor’s latest shameful decision to axe Regional Roads Victoria and its road repairer SprayLine Road Services shows that they too cannot be trusted.”
In response to questions from Western District Newspapers surrounding the claims, the Victorian Government hit back – stating each of the claims had been misleading.
Western District Newspapers understands the Victorian Government has been working to integrate the state’s transport network since 2019 to create more efficiency under the Department of Transport and Planning.
Since VicRoads and Public Transport Victoria consolidated in 2019, efforts to streamline how key information relating to the road network have culminated in the launch of a universal Transport Victoria brand – with its new website launched this year.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said this was why the Regional Roads Victoria branding was being redirected, but stressed the functions remain the same and the same number of regional staffers would continue working across the regional road network.
The spokesperson also stated SprayLine Road Services was merely being reviewed by the government’s internal provider model, during which time no staff or service delivery will be impacted and no decisions have been made.
“While the Liberals and Nationals waste their time with Facebook conspiracy theories, we’re getting on with delivering record investment to maintain regional Victorian roads,” the spokesperson said.
“We have the same number of dedicated regional staff working as part of Transport Victoria to deliver our record $6.6 billion investment into maintaining our roads.”
The Victorian Government also hit back at the claim federal funding for roads was being “skimmed”.
Western District Newspapers understands the program is delivered through the Department of Transport and Planning and local councils on state and local roads, which involves administration costs for a range of services including providing advice from engineers and road experts, application processes, assessment tasks, undertaking road safety risks, and preparation and management of funding agreements and contracts.
The Victorian Government also hit back on the claims weather conditions had not impacted the rollout of repairs and maintenance, stating extreme weather events were becoming commonplace and inflicting unprecedented damage to roads.
The spokesperson said the often-cited 91 per cent of roads being in “poor or very poor conditions” was based on a government survey of flood damaged roads – not roads across the entire state.
Western District Newspapers understands the nature of above-average rainfall, which the south west did experience during the summer of 2022/2023 and 2023/2024, has seen road maintenance programs redirect focus to rebuilding and strengthening damaged roads as opposed to resurfacing efforts.
Resurfacing is considered the least intensive form of road maintenance, and is one element of the broader program.
The performance measures, citing the decline in resurfacing expenditure, does not capture the primary focus of last year’s program, which was major patching rather than resurfacing.
Resurfacing focuses on replacing the surface layers of the road to both protect the pavement from water damage and fix any surface defects - it does reach the root cause of potholes and pavement deterioration, which are foundational issues below the surface.
The Victorian Government spokesperson said strengthening works have now been completed on the most flood-impacted roads, and the upcoming maintenance season was being finalised with what Western District Newspapers understands to be a $964 million spend.
“It would be disingenuous of the Liberals and Nationals to ignore the unprecedented damage repeated flooding and above-average rainfall has caused to our roads,” the government spokesperson said.
“Now works to completely rebuild our most flood-damaged roads is complete, resurfacing levels will significantly increase during the upcoming maintenance season.
“We’ll continue this important work investing $964 million into maintaining our roads in this year alone – far exceeding the yearly average of $493 million under the previous Liberal National Government.”
Ms Britnell, however, has said the condition of roads across the region have been a cause for concern for the safety of drivers due to deterioration and not enough was being invested in to the road networks in regional areas.
As Western District Newspapers reported in October 2022, the Coalition had unveiled a $10 billion funding commitment over 10 years as a key commitment ahead of the 2022 Victorian State Election - above the $6.6 billion commitment Labor will spend over the next 10 years.
“The Allan Labour Government had been found out for its political spin and lack of concerns for regional Victorians,” Ms Britnell said.
“Regional Roads Victoria was only designed for propaganda purposes to make it seem like Labor cared about regional roads and the safety of drivers in these areas.
“As those of us across the South West Coast know, the reality is otherwise.
“The potholes and shocking condition of the road surface is a daily hazard”.
“I receive regular reports from across the electorate of people highly concerned for their safety when driving around the South West Coast.”
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