Victoria budget 2022: Funding for regional road repair declines, opposition says

A clash over road funding dollars has erupted between the State Roads Minister and his opposition counterpart

STATE Roads Minister Ben Carroll has hit back at opposition claims that regional road funding has been slashed.

Opposition roads spokeswoman Steph Ryan has criticised the State Government’s committment to rural road repair, claiming cash allocated to fixing damaged regional thoroughfares had declined in recent years.

Mr Carroll said $780 million had been allocated to road maintenance in the 2022-23 budget, handed down by State Treasurer Tim Pallas on Tuesday.

“Once again, the Opposition’s claims prove they haven’t read the budget papers correctly,” the Roads Minister said.

“To say that funding has been cut for a second year in a row is simply not true.”

“In this budget, we are spending $780 million on road maintenance, compared to the average annual spend of $493 million when the Coalition were last in office – leaving behind a legacy of cuts and closures. Victorians know that only Labor delivers the upgrades Victoria needs.”

“Our hardworking crews are out across the state almost every day to ensure better journeys for motorists. Just this maintenance season, our crews have been working hard to rebuild, repair and resurface more than 1,400 kilometres of our network.”

Ms Ryan said a trend towards lowering speed limits on rural thoroughfares rather than fixing rough services was endemic.

“No matter where you go across the state, roads are crumbling and potted with holes,” the Euroa MP said. “Some are now downright dangerous.

“The Andrews Government’s solution is to reduce speed limits and waste money on temporary signage rather than actually fixing roads.

“Strong investment in roads is not a big ask of a government that is happy to let tens of billions of dollars disappear through wasteful cost blowouts and project mismanagement in Melbourne.”

On Tuesday, State Treasurer Tim Pallas allocated more than $100m to regional road projects as part of the 2022-23 budget.

Road projects identified as part of the $101m package announced this week included the Bass Hwy at Kilcunda, the Princes Hwy west of Colac, Portland Ring Rd, the Strzelecki Hwy near Morwell and the Princes Hwy near Bairnsdale.

However, Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano said the cash allocated was not enough to address the multitude of dangerous roads exacerbated by recent wet weather.

“This is yet another budget that fails to address the chronic underfunding of Victoria’s regional road network,” Ms Germano said.

“Western Victoria has particularly missed out on funding for upgrades to critical freight routes so farmers can get food and fibre to market.”

Last month, a statewide quest to find regional Victoria’s most dangerous roads was launched by the state opposition.

The three-month survey will call for nominations from the public, who have been asked to submit photos of dangerous thoroughfares via an online portal.