Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy says the state of Victoria’s roads continues to be subpar, with further analysis of the 2024/25 budget revealing a 96 per cent reduction in the levels of maintenance undertaken on regional roads.
“This follows the revelation that the road maintenance budget remains 16 per cent below 2020 levels, and a cut of $88 million from road safety funding,” Mr McCurdy said.
“Ninety-one per cent of roads were rated as poor or very poor in a survey the government conducted only last year.
“The minister must have misread the data, as the actions taken this year are the exact opposite of what should have been taken.”
Mr McCurdy said 400 kilometres of roads are speed-reduced around the state, and road resurfacing will drop by 75 per cent next year.
“Over 2,000 Victorians lodged claims for vehicle damages due to shoddy roads,” he added.
“This is a very clear and calculated snub of regional Victorians like those living in the Ovens Valley.
“We have roads that have been knocked out for over six months, and some that are still damaged from the 2022 floods.
“Yet Labor still continues to fund their expensive Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line to the tune of $35 billion.”
