Peter Walsh
MP Leader of The Nationals
Dear Editor,
Regional drivers are forced to drive on crumbling roads, but life only gets harder as motor costs continue to rise and road maintenance continues to be neglected. Families continue to be slugged, with the cost of car registration and licence fees rising for another year.
Regional Victorians will now have to find almost $850 in the household budget to register the family car.
Victorian road users are paying more for less, with the Government slashing their road maintenance funding by 45 per cent since 2020.
The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) will be raided again, which puts vital road
safety initiatives and accident responses at risk to balance the government’s budget.
With car fees increasing despite our roads deteriorating, the cost of living only gets tougher for hardworking Victorians.
Labor is unwilling to fix our roads but continues to hammer Victorian road users with price increases.
Bad roads are dangerous roads, which sadly the Government refuses to address, with more than 150 tragic deaths in 2023 – 30 per cent more than this time last year. These are not just statistics, they are somebody’s mother, father or sibling.
While a family member is missing from the dinner table, Labor continues to neglect our roads.
Managing director of road surfacing company VSA Roads, Justin Bartlett, said they have witnessed a massive deterioration of Victorian roads since 2022.
“Our rural main road and highway network has quickly become one that resembles a patchwork quilt with short-term quick fixes becoming the norm … the decision to cut off all funding defies any logic,” Justin said.
While Labor refuses to properly maintain our roads, Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan are happy to send Victorian road users higher bills to use dodgy roads riddled with potholes.
Want to have your say?
Email your letters to the editor to
editorial@sheppartonadviser.com.au
Please keep letters to under 200 words.
