Gippsland motorists are being treated like second-class citizens by Labor-Greens politicians in Canberra and Melbourne, according to local MP Darren Chester.
Mr Chester has accused the State Roads Minister Melissa Horne and Federal Transport Minister Catherine King of abandoning regional motorists and putting lives at risk as the Princes Highway east of Sale falls into disrepair.
“I’m terrified that local families will be killed and injured on our highway because these two Ministers refuse to do their job and invest in a better, safer road,” Mr Chester said.
“At a time when road trauma statistics are increasing in regional areas, we should be spending more on road safety, not cutting projects that will save lives.
“We’re all meant to drive cars that are roadworthy, surely we can expect our main highway to be car-worthy?
“The state and federal governments have cut funding for maintenance and improvements to the Princes Highway, and the road is falling apart, particularly east of Sale.
“There are sections east of Cann River which have been patched literally dozens of times, why not just get the job done right the first time?”
Mr Chester said he had received numerous reports from motorists and large transport company owners about damage to vehicles caused by the deteriorating road surface on the Princes Highway.
“In the middle of a cost of living crisis, people are paying for costly repairs to their wheels, axels and windscreens because the state and federal governments are refusing to spend money on maintaining and upgrading our region’s major transport route,” Mr Chester said.
“Under the previous Coalition Government, we provided funds, which delivered new overtaking lanes, wider shoulders and a safer road surface, but there has been an investment strike ever since the Albanese Government came to office.
“The Labor-Greens city-based MPs couldn’t care less about road safety in regional communities, and we are being treated like second-class citizens while they are gold-plating the infrastructure in Melbourne with hideously expensive projects. “Rather than this obsession about saving a few minutes in Melbourne, how about we save lives in regions like Gippsland.
“Locals are angry and frustrated that they are not seeing any money flow our way to improve basic infrastructure because the Labor Party has blocked new projects. If you see a grader or bulldozer working on a major project in Gippsland today, I can assure you it was fully funded by the previous government, and once the work is done, there’s nothing for new road projects in our region.”
