THE Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has slammed both major parties for lacklustre commitments during the state election campaign.
Victoria’s peak farming body revealed its scorecard this week, rating the promises made by Labor and the Coalition according to the commitments sought by the VFF in its “Fair Go for Regional Vic” campaign.
President Emma Germano said she was disappointed there had not been more commitments put forward by the major parties.
“Our mission has been to draw attention to the challenges and opportunities that our communities face on a daily basis and secure election commitments from all candidates and parties to address these issues,” she said.
“Whilst both major parties have made significant commitments to regional health, there’s little in the way of significant funding and reform to other rural issues like roads, local government funding and farm biosecurity.”
Ms Germano singled out road maintenance and repair as a critical issue that was not being addressed by the Labor Party in particular.
“Labor has committed no funds to invest in regional road maintenance and repair,” she said.
“Last week, I wrote to Premier Daniel Andrews calling on him to show that Labor are in touch with country communities by promising long-term funding certainty.
“Every pothole regional Victorians drive over on their way to the polling booths will be a reminder of just how neglected our roads are.”
According to the scorecard, Labor made no future commitment to statewide regional road maintenance, while the Coalition pledged $10 billion over 10 years to regional road maintenance.
The Coalition also announced it would reinstate the Country Roads and Bridges Program, with a $288 million commitment, while Labor had not committed to what was sought to fix local roads.
“With less than a week to election day, there is still time for both sides of politics to offer more,” Ms Germano said.
She said farmers should think about what was on offer to them before they vote.
The scorecard is available on the VFF website.
