The Nationals’ Member for Shepparton District, Kim O’Keeffe, is once again calling on the Victorian Government to reverse a decade of regional road neglect and invest in critical road maintenance.
Ms O’Keeffe recently spent the morning with Stewart Edgar of Sutherland Transport Services on a road trip in his truck.
“Stewart reached out and invited me to join him in his truck to experience firsthand what he experiences daily in his workplace, trying to navigate our appalling and unsafe roads,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“It was astounding and frightful to see the consistently dangerous conditions that Stewart has to navigate from gaping potholes to uneven and crumbling roads.
“I also witnessed firsthand the danger of trucks passing each other with nowhere to go other than straight over a pothole. If you swerve to miss one, you risk a head on collision.
“I was astounded by the impact of going over a damaged road with potholes and an uneven road surface, with Stewart and I being severely jolted in our seats.”
Stewart also raised at that point the axle of his vehicle would have been damaged, a common occurrence for local truckies.
“Trucks are being damaged daily and it is costing businesses thousands of dollars each month,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“These costs should not be put on the local trucking businesses for no fault of their own.
“Stewart is one of 50,000 truck drivers in Victoria, with 25% of Victoria’s trucks registered across the Shepparton district.
“We have an enormous movement of truck transport which needs a safe and fit for purpose roads network.
“Stewart said that with his truck costing $15,000 in registration fees alone, he wants to know where that money is being spent. It’s clearly not on our roads where it should be.
“The level of road maintenance neglect that is being experienced by these truck drivers, and all road users is astounding.
“The neglect, negligence and disrespect the Allan Labor Government has for our truckies is on display to them every single day.
“Every gaping pothole, crumbling road shoulder and rutted pavement is a workplace hazard for our truck drivers.”
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.
“We have seen significant cuts of roads maintenance funding with a 45% reduction since 2020, leading to the state’s roads deteriorating at an alarming rate,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
Mr Edgar has also invited the Minister for Roads and Road Safety to visit and spend time with him in his truck to see how the Victorian Government’s regional roads neglect is impacting truck drivers.
“You really do have to experience it to have a true understanding of the appalling conditions and the daily impact this has on our truck drivers,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“We know that all road users are experiencing the neglect of our roads.
“The Minister is responsible for the appalling condition of our roads, and I urge her to join Stewart and to offer her response on what our truckies are experiencing.
“This government has their priorities all wrong with billions wasted in cost blowouts and billions of dollars wasted on city centric projects with no benefit to the people of regional Victoria.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage our road network and our truckies are paying the price.”
