THE Liberal Nationals this week launched a campaign to identify the most dangerous hazards that are risking lives on our roads every day and we need the public’s help to have the impact this survey needs.
Regional and country roads are being neglected; yet the Andrews Labor Government is continually cutting the money available, so our roads are actually going backwards.
Decades of neglect have left them rough and potholed, risking the lives of motorcyclists, car drivers and truckies every single day.
Yet at the same time this citycentric Andrews Labor Government has found more than $24 billion to pour into plugging its cost overruns on poorly managed major projects.
If they put aside just $1 billion of those staggering losses, it would go a very long way towards making so many of our roads so much safer.
I genuinely believe only a change in government in November will stop the waste and mismanagement, with a better-managed budget delivering savings that can contribute to reversing Labor’s cuts – Daniel Andrews carved nearly $200 million from road asset maintenance in last year’s State Budget alone.
Since elected in 2014, Daniel Andrews and his government have also axed funds for targeted maintenance of local roads by abolishing the Country Roads and Bridges Program and disbanded the joint parliamentary committee that had overseen road safety since 1967.
As drivers on our roads, you have an important role to play in exposing the problems because instead of fixing roads that are falling apart, for regional electorates where it doesn’t give a damn, the Andrews Labor Government favours a cheap fix with lower speed limits.
We are seeking reports direct from local communities, councils, farmers and community groups as we search for Victoria’s worst roads.
Fixing the maintenance backlog won’t be an easy task – as the Victorian Auditor-General says, poorly-maintained roads cost more to repair, cost motorists more in fuel and in vehicle repairs, on top of the safety risk.
To submit a road, visit the online portal at vicsworstroad.vote
