Regional Victorians driving onsome of the worst roads in the state

09 September 2026

Regional Victorians driving onsome of the worst roads in the state

Regional Victorians are driving on some of the worst roads in the state, withthe state's independent auditor confirming more than half of the roads acrossthe Hume region are rated poor or very poor.

The findings are contained in theVictorian Auditor-General's Office (VAGO) report, Maintaining State Roads,released today, which confirmed successive road maintenance cuts and fundingfailures by the Carroll Labor Government.

The Nationals Member for Euroa,Annabelle Cleeland MP, said the findings were the consequence of more than adecade of cuts to Victoria's road network by the Labor Government.

"Despite years of Laborgaslighting regional Victorians, communities always knew our road network wasno longer car-worthy," Ms Cleeland said.

"These are the roads peoplerely on every day to get to work, take their kids to school, get to medicalappointments and move livestock, grain and goods across our region."

VAGO found the network's declineis accelerating, with roads rated poor or very poor rising from around 39 percent in 2021 to around 48 per cent in 2024, and defects now appearing fasterthan they are being fixed.

Ms Cleeland said Labor had spentyears responding to road failures rather than properly maintaining roads beforethey reached that point.

"We keep seeing potholespatched, only for the same roads to deteriorate again," Ms Cleeland said.

"Patching a pothole is notthe same as maintaining a road.

"The Labor Government cannotkeep waiting until roads are falling apart before it acts. By then, the damageis worse, the repairs cost more and regional motorists have already spent yearsputting up with unsafe and uncomfortable roads."

The audit also found theDepartment of Transport and Planning had advised the Labor Government thatcurrent funding levels were insufficient to maintain or improve the network,with funding increasingly directed towards reactive and safety-critical repairsrather than planned preventative maintenance.

Ms Cleeland said the LaborGovernment could no longer ignore the warnings coming from its own department.

"This is not just myassessment of the roads, or the frustration of regional communities — this isthe Auditor-General and the Government's own department confirming the currentapproach isn't working," Ms Cleeland said.

"We need to stop managing ourroads from crisis to crisis and start properly maintaining them before theyfail."

Ms Cleeland said this was whyVictorians were desperate for the Liberals and Nationals' $5 billion commitmentto fix Victoria's road network and establish Better Roads Victoria.

The commitment follows a recentannouncement that a Liberals and Nationals government will invest $288 millionover four years through a re-established Country Roads and Bridges Program,delivering $1.5 million a year to every rural and regional council.

"Regional Victoriansshouldn't have to fight to understand who is responsible for which roads whenso much of the state's network is failing to meet a basic safetystandard," Ms Cleeland said.

"The Liberals and Nationalsare the only ones with a plan to fix Victoria's roads."