Once upon a time, not too long ago, crossing the border from New South Wales into Victoria meant entering a state with wider, smoother, and safer roads. It is something we could, and did, boast about.
“That is not the case anymore,” says Gippsland East Nationals’ MP, Tim Bull.
“Of recent times we have had just on two kilometres of road repairs right on the border, but 2.2 kilometres away the craters start and between the 44 kilometres from the border to Cann River there are almost 200 areas of broken surface,” he said.
“Many of these are areas that have had temporary fixes that have quickly blown out to being potholes again, as the repairs were simply not done right.
“When I have raised this matter in Parliament, the Roads Minister, Melissa Horne, simply speaks about the miserly two kilometres that have been repaired. Why you would cart all that machinery up there and
not fix the worst 10-15 kilometres is the question I would like answered, but in all honesty, we know the answer.
“Clearly it is a case of money and, when you cut roads funding over time and reduce the amount of road surface that is to be treated each year, this is the outcome you get.”
Mr Bull said as soon as you leave the two kilometres of newly treated surface there is a massive crater (see picture) that is the start of a very poor stretch on what is a high use highway.
“Labor’s own budget papers state they will be fixing less road area than they did last year, in a period where we need much more done,” he said.
“This is the result of the State’s finances being grossly mismanaged to the stage we are to hit a debt level of $192 billion with interest
repayments alone of $28.8 million per day.
This is the simple reason we are seeing cuts across the board.
“We need a government that will restore the State’s balance sheet to a respectable level, because under Jacinta Allan it is out of control. Labor cannot manage money and Victoria’s road users are paying the price.”
