Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Talking about roads in Victoria is very similar to talking about the economy. The Albanese government keep telling us how we've never had it better and the economy is flying, except every Australian is worse off today than they were 2½ years ago. That conversation is very similar to roads in Victoria. We just heard from the member for Bendigo about how great the roads are in Victoria. With all the money that's going in, we've never had it better when it comes to roads. That's news to my community. I was at the Lilydale show this weekend talking to locals—despite the heat, the rain and the storms that came on Saturday and Sunday, as they do in Melbourne—and roads was the second-biggest issue we heard about, behind the cost of living.

My community know all about the Albanese Labor government when it comes to road funding and cuts, because the community had $100 million cut from the Roads for the Community sealing program. That was a program that was going to seal 150 kilometres of road all across my community over 10 years. It was committed to by the coalition in 2019. It had bipartisan support. The then shadow minister for infrastructure, Anthony Albanese, committed to the program.

The program was being delivered on time and on budget, and the member for Hawke can continue to interject, because I know his community is concerned about roads as well. My community knows that that money was committed to by the then Labor opposition over 10 years. That project was being delivered on time and on budget. At Senate estimates, the department confirmed that the project was improving safety in the community, and it was pulled by the Albanese Labor government. My community knows all about the promises when it comes to roads and about the broken promises from this government.

We also understand firsthand why we need to continue to invest in roads. Unfortunately, the Melba Highway between Coldstream to Yea was, through the RACV My Country Road survey, voted as the most dangerous road in Victoria. As you go up that road, there's a significantly challenging intersection and a big sweeping bend at the corner of the highway in St Hubert's. Just recently, I was driving the road and essentially had the old wobbles from the corrugation on the bitumen road. It was a moment where I was lucky to keep myself safe on that road. It's a dangerous road as you sweep.

The speed limit on the road is 80 kilometres per hour, so the solution from the government is to put up signs slowing the speed to 40 kilometres per hour. That's the solution we get—not to actually fix the problem but to put a sign up warning Victorians, warning community members in Casey, to slow down to 40 kilometres per hour on a road that should be sealed. I've been working with the state member for Eildon, Cindy McLeish, to get that funding upgraded because it's a significant local road and a significant thoroughfare. People use that road for holidays with caravans, and lots of trucks go on that road. But the best we can get is a sign telling us to slow down from 80 to 40.

The Warburton Highway section between Seville and Woori Yallock was also near the top of that list of dangerous roads. As you drive along those roads you see the potholes that are continuing to grow bigger and bigger. If we're lucky, we get a patch job, and then the pothole just happens again as soon as it rains. It's going to get worse, as we know the road maintenance budget in Victoria was slashed by 95 per cent. At a time when roads are worse than ever, the funding is being slashed, which means the problem is going to continue to exacerbate. Every week my office gets emails and calls from residents that have been driving along, particularly at night, and have hit a pothole and got rim damage. They have no faith in the federal government actually funding it, because they know it has been cut before, and they have no faith in the Victorian Labor government delivering it.

Killara Road, as an example, is another project that shows the Victorian Labor government is unable to deliver projects. They've had that money to deliver that upgrade since 2019, and we're at the end of 2024 and we're still waiting for that project to start. That is the reality for the Victorian people, for the community in Casey. If we commit funding, Labor will do two things: they'll cut it or fail to deliver on the project.

The department has said that the works will start in early 2025, so I'll wait with interest to see whether the Victorian state government actually get on with it and deliver some safer roads for my community.

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