The Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, has declined an invitation to experience the appalling condition of the Shepparton region’s roads with a local truck driver.
The Nationals’ Member for Shepparton District, Kim O’Keeffe, recently toured some of the Goulburn Valley’s most dangerous roads with Stewart Edgar of Sutherland Transport Services.
Mr Edgar was eager to take the Minister on a tour as well, so she could experience firsthand how much more dangerous the conditions are for truck drivers on crumbling and potholed roads.
Ms O’Keeffe invited the Minister to the region in Parliament on April 2, an invitation the Minister has declined.
Ms O’Keeffe said the Minister’s refusal to see firsthand the consequences of the Allan Labor Government’s neglect of regional roads showed the contempt in which they hold regional Victorians.
“This government continually talks about how much maintenance they’re undertaking but the Minister refuses to leave the city and see what conditions are really like in regional Victoria,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“Our roads are the workplaces of our local truck drivers and they are completely unsafe — something I witnessed firsthand while travelling with Mr Edgar.
“So many of our roads are in such appalling and unsafe condition and the lack of investment into our regional roads will see further decline putting lives at risk.
“It’s clear the government fundamentally misunderstands the importance of a well-maintained road network to regional communities.
“A quarter of the state’s trucks are registered in the Shepparton region, trucks that need to use our local roads to transport an enormous amount of goods. They need to have a safe an adequate road network.
“The Minister should also know there are no trams or trains running every five minutes out here. Roads are how people get around, and they are in an appalling and unsafe condition.
“By refusing this invitation, the Minister has turned her back on our community and again shown how city-centric the Allan Labor Government is.”
Last year, road maintenance work in regional Victoria dropped by 95 per cent, despite a maintenance backlog of billions of dollars across the regional road network.
“This ongoing neglect is astounding and as the Minister for Roads and Road Safety she has a duty of care which she is failing,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“This ongoing lack of investment into our roads has to stop and safety on our roads must be a priority.
“This government remains focused on throwing billions of dollars down the drain for the disastrous Suburban Rail Loop while failing to adequately fund our regional roads.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage regional roads and regional Victorians are paying the price.”
