120 recreational boats per day used Bastion Point over the holiday period

The completed Bastion Point Boat Ramp at Mallacoota was praised in State Parliament this week by Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, who said it would be a great economic driver for the region.

Mr Bull praised those in the community who had pushed the project, including groups such as the Mallacoota and District Business and Tourism Association, Mallacoota Ocean Access Committee and in particular, Mr John Rudge, who had advocated on the issue for many years.

“I had a short stay in Mallacoota in the New Year and visited the ramp both of an evening and a morning and it was great to see the activity.

“I was told there had been up to 120 recreational craft per day and the stories I heard from visiting boaties at the ramp was that they thought it was terrific and would be getting the word out about the new facility.

“I have no doubt that when more Victorian off-shore game fishers become aware of its completion, we will see less driving to southern New South Wales and more recreational fishers utilising ocean access at this location.

“Apart from them agreeing it was much safer, they were generally impressed with the construction and quality with one chap telling me he fished right along the NSW south coast and this was the best ramp he had seen.”

Mr Bull said he was delighted the Coalition Government had provided $6.3m to the project which would provide economic benefits for years to come and praised the East Gippsland Shire Council for its contribution and overseeing the project.

“Although it is a great facility, like all ocean access ramps it will not be without incident over time and caution and safety remain paramount considerations for anyone using the ramp,” Mr Bull said.

Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, inspects a damaged section of road near Cobungra with Bruce Strong from VicRoads.

East Gippslanders will see a big reduction in road works and will be dodging more pot holes than ever on their local roads because Daniel Andrews has ripped $375 million out of the rural roads budget.

Labor has scrapped the very popular $160 million Country Roads and Bridges Program that provided $1 million per year to all Victoria’s rural councils, including East Gippsland and Wellington, to assist with their required road and bridge works.

It is also significantly reducing money from other rural road maintenance funds, diverting it to metropolitan Melbourne.

After a question in Parliament today on the funding, Roads Minister, Luke Donnellan tried to re-write history saying funding for Country Roads and Bridges had expired rather than it being cut by Labor.

“The cold hard fact is the program is funded in the Budget until June 30 this year and the Liberal-Nationals Coalition had committed to funding it for another four years.

“This answer clearly shows that Labor will not be renewing this very popular funding program, which from my time as Minister for Local Government, I know was very popular with all rural councils.

“If you drive through East Gippsland at the moment, the amount of road works going on is significant. We came to office with a lot to do in relation to roads and there remains a lot to do, but the job was well underway.

There are major works currently underway between Lakes Entrance and Orbost and also between Orbost and Cann River and we have seen significant funds spent on the Great Alpine Road and Omeo Highway, as well as major intersection upgrades.

“The Country Roads and Bridges Program meant country Victorians had better and safer roads to travel and at the same time it freed up council funds to spend on other important community programs and infrastructure,” Mr Bull said.

“Last year the Coalition Government’s total investment on roads maintenance was over $500 million. This compares to Daniel Andrews’ plan to invest $1 billion over eight years into regional roads – which is just $125 million a year.

“So the Andrews Labor Government has actually cut the roads budget by $375 million a year,” which is very disappointing.

“The Minister can start to bridge this funding shortfall by again committing to the Country Roads and Bridges Program,” Mr Bull said.