Kim O’KEEFFE (Shepparton) (14:47): (578) My question is for the Treasurer, and the information I seek is: will the upcoming May budget include sufficient funding to repair the road network across my electorate of Shepparton? My office has been inundated with constituents from right across my electorate raising concerns at the appalling and unsafe condition of our roads. The state of our roads has been deteriorating dramatically, with successive cuts to the road maintenance budget totalling 45 per cent since 2020. Dodging dangerous potholes, broken road and uneven road surfaces continues to be a dangerous daily hazard. The ability to efficiently get produce transported from my region is being hampered by our second-rate country road infrastructure. The Shepparton district is a major transport hub as well as a major transport thoroughfare. Rather than seeing repairs, the crumbling roads are subjected to speed limit reductions or warnings. Vehicles are getting damaged and costing transport businesses thousands of dollars a month as well as leaving constituents with out-of-pocket expenses that they cannot afford during a cost-of-living crisis. I have never seen the roads in such a state of disrepair.
Category: Speeches
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