Gippsland CFA pleas with Allan government for pothole fix ahead of bushfire season

Volunteer firefighters are pleading with the Allan government to fix potholes in the bushfire ravaged region, over fears it will hinder their emergency response this summer.

Volunteer firefighters in one of the state’s most bushfire prone areas are warning the Allan government that pothole riddled roads could hinder their response to bushfires this summer.

Country Fire Authority (CFA) members in Gippsland, an area still recovering from the catastrophic Black Summer bushfires in 2019-2020, are pleading with the state government to fix the state of the roads ahead of what could be another disastrous summer.

More than 120 homes, including five owned by CFA volunteers, were destroyed when fires tore through the regional community and popular holiday spot four years ago.

Ten brigades across Orbost and Mt Delegate, including Mallacoota, have penned a letter to local Nationals MP, Tim Bull, fearing the “dangerously severe potholes, uneven surfaces, and deteriorating signage” would impact their response this holiday period.

“This decline in quality is now impacting emergency services organisations to deliver a timely and safe response,” they wrote.

CFA crews fear potholes will lead to a delay in their emergency response. Picture: CFA Rosebud

“It is also causing undue wear and tear on appliances.”

The pleas come as Victoria’s seasonal bushfire outlook listed Gippsland southwest as an at-risk area this summer.

The CFA volunteers, who are forced to operate 30-year-old trucks, said the state of the roads had reached a “critical point” and feared they could also lead to deadly collisions.

“Although the government has by choice undertaken an extensive tunnelling and other major infrastructure projects, this should not come at the cost of maintaining our existing road network that supports the transport industry, tourists and locals alike,” they wrote.

It comes after the Herald Sun revealed an estimated 220,000 potholes – 700 a day – were filled last year across the state’s crumbling road network.

Protracted negotiations between Parks Victoria and surrounding Aboriginal groups are also understood to have caused years-long delays in rebuilding key government-owned tourist accommodation in the area, The Cape Conran Coastal Park cabins.

Razed in the megablaze, the cabins were set for a multimillion-dollar upgrade.

The Briagolong fires wreaked havoc on the Gippsland region last year. Picture: Lilydale CFA

But the installation of the new cabins has now been pushed out to 2025, hampering efforts to attract tourists back to the area.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet said they were waiting for Parks Victoria to present a Cultural Heritage Management Plan before the cabins can be rebuilt.

A Victorian government spokesman said rehabilitation works would commence on the Monaro Highway this week, while Bonang Highway and Mallacoota-Genoa Rd would be repaired in the coming months.

“We’re rebuilding, repairing and resurfacing hundreds of kilometres of Victorian roads, including the Mallacoota Genoa Rd, Princes Highway, Bonang Highway and Monaro Highway, thanks to the largest single-year investment in road maintenance in the state’s history,” she said.

Originally published as Gippsland CFA pleas with Allan government for pothole fix ahead of bushfire season