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‘Seriously underfunded’ roads network
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‘Seriously underfunded’ roads network

Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull, has backed a call from the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) to reinstate road funding cuts to rural and regional Victoria.

Victoria’s regional highway network is “seriously underfunded”, requires significantly increased levels of funding and is in a condition of decline, according to a RACV document.

Mr Bull said the RACV’s budget submission to the State Government further highlighted the need to reinstate funding to the levels provided under the previous Coalition Government for the management of roads in rural and regional Victoria.

“It is no wonder the network is declining – Labor has cut the Road Asset Management Budget and Road Operations and Network Improvement Budget by $307 million in the past two years and completely removed the Country Roads and Bridges Program, which provided $8m to East Gippsland and Wellington Shire Councils alone,” Mr Bull said.

The RACV submission states:

“RACV commissioned an independent review of the funding and condition of Victoria’s regional highway network that has found that the network is seriously underfunded and its condition is declining.”

The RACV has called for “Substantial increases in funding to repair and maintain Victoria’s highway network, which has deteriorated alarmingly in recent years and is now causing increased safety risks” among its critical initiatives in the 2017/18 budget.

“This is proof the Government needs to, at least, restore funding to levels provided by the former Coalition Government,” Mr Bull said.

Mr Bull said interestingly, the RACV also called for the construction of the East-West Link, which was scrapped by the Andrews Government, costing taxpayers $1.1 billion in compensation when the Premier promised no compensation would be paid.

 

Caption: Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, is backing a call from the RACV to reinstate road funding cuts to rural and regional Victoria.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017