TRANSCRIPT:
Today I rise to speak on the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report on the 2023–24 budget estimates. I will not go into the entire report with its 308 pages, 129 findings and 82 recommendations, but there are a few points that I want to discuss that deeply impact my community.
One of the biggest complaints that we get in my office on a daily basis online, via emails and via any form of communication is the trouble that we have with our road network. Findings relating to the Department of Transport and Planning raised several concerns about the condition of our roads, particularly those that have been impacted by floods and those in regional Victoria. Finding 56 discusses funding allocated towards road maintenance and renewal. A big part of this – with the consequence of increasing road fatalities – is the constant slashing of the road maintenance budget. We have seen road maintenance funding decrease from $702.2 million to just $441.6 million in the last year alone, despite the dire state of Victoria’s regional network.
Since 2020, 45 per cent of the road maintenance budget has been cut. Roads in regional Victoria are still in desperate need of attention. I have spoken to several mechanics throughout the electorate who continually say that the trouble with the roads is that their current state is having a real impact on families’ cost-of-living pressures, with constant repairs needed because the state of the roads is not fit for purpose. The roads needed fixing before the October floods, and now they are in dire condition. If anyone would like to argue against this, I would love to take them for a drive. We have potholes everywhere, crumbling roadsides and compromised services in every town in the Euroa electorate. Cutting funding from something so necessary goes to show how out of touch this Labor government is with the needs of regional Victoria.
The roads are causing problems for commuters, the transport industry and visitors to our region. Labor’s pothole-patching program is cheap, temporary and totally ineffective. There are real consequences to this, and they are not just budgetary. Finding 62 raises serious concerns about the number of lives lost on Victorian roads. I will talk to the data on this, but what we have to remember is that these are people’s lives. These are children, parents, families and friends that are losing their lives because of the constant slashing of our road maintenance budget. As of 6 August 2023 there was a 24.6 per cent increase in the number of lives lost compared to the same time the previous year, a nearly 30 per cent increase compared to the five-year average. This is the truth. We should be doing what we can to help prevent the issue, and it starts with the quality and safety of our roads.
Roads continue to be one of the biggest concerns of my constituents. In a recent newsletter I asked people within my electorate to tell me about the roads – what are the worst roads in the local area? For an electorate that spans 12,000 square kilometres, there was not one road that was not complained about. This is not an issue that is isolated to one area. Our entire regional road network is in disarray and needs fixing. I know from my colleagues that this is a widespread issue that everyone has deep concerns about. We are also seeing the consequences of this budget slashing in insurance issues, with mechanics complaining that vehicles are being damaged due to the poor condition of roads and with owners having difficulties receiving much-needed compensation for repairs, and we are seeing delays in processing compensation at Regional Roads Victoria. I have helped process countless insurance claims.
Another point I would like to raise about the PAEC report is about the findings regarding the Department of Education, and these must be addressed. We have seen many schools applying for grants seemingly being ignored. One stat that jumps out at me is that 93 per cent of the investment is being funnelled into Labor seats and only 6 per cent into Liberal and Nationals seats, relative to Labor holding just 63 per cent of the seats. This is pork-barrelling at its worst.