By Eleanor Wilson and Shelby Brooks
Federal MPs have continued to slam the $146m funding cut which would have gone toward sealing 187km of dirt roads in the Dandenong Ranges.
The former Coalition Government committed $300m to help the Cardinia and Yarra Ranges Councils seal roads in the hills, but it was confirmed earlier this year that $146.5m of that funding had been slashed.
Opposition MPs have claimed it comes as part of $10b in cuts to infrastructure, with the funds redirected to the Victorian Government’s Suburban Rail Loop project.
Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Senator Bridget McKenzie said Dandenong Ranges residents and businesses were paying the price for the Federal Government’s deal to deliver $2b to the Suburban Rail Loop project ahead of November’s State Election.
However, a spokesperson for the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King said it was not true that previously secured funding for the sealing roads project was redirected to the Suburban Rail Loop.
In the Federal Government’s October budget, $146.5m of funding was cut from the sealing roads project for those elements where formal contracts had not been signed.
“The Australian Government had a commitment with local community members to seal their roads and that commitment should be honoured,” Senator McKenzie said.
“This is not like many of Labor’s other infrastructure cuts where they sat down with the states and territories to negotiate cuts and delays to projects involving state assets.
“This innovative program was a partnership agreed between the Commonwealth and local landholders and the Cardinia and Yarra Ranges Councils.
“Families have put their own money on the table to partner in sealing these roads and it is cruel for Labor to take the money off the table and walk away from the problem.
“We know the Prime Minister took the razor to Victorian infrastructure projects to pay for Dan Andrew’s suburban rail loop, but money for local roads should not have been caught up in that partisan, internal Labor Party deal.”
Federal La Trobe MP Jason Wood said the funding cut was another cost of living hit to families in the La Trobe electorate who will be left to pay a higher cost to seal local roads at a time when household bills keep going up.
“Unsealed roads need extensive maintenance to keep them safe, grading and fixing potholes, as well as use of dust suppressant, all of which has to come from council rates paid by landholders,” he said.
“This important project would have helped reduce the burden on ratepayers to constantly maintain the roads in a car-worthy condition.”
Federal Casey MP Aaron Violi said sealing these local roads was important for the safety of the community.
“Residents have raised concerns about past incidents on these roads and the opportunity for a safer, sealed road network in the Dandenong Ranges to support access for emergency vehicles in the event of bushfire or other disaster,” he said.
Senator McKenzie said the government’s public comments exposed the political nature of the decision to cut funding to this road sealing initiative.
“The Albanese Government should be ashamed of calling this program a ‘special carve-out’ for ‘marginal electorates’ when most inner city Labor MPs have never experienced dirt roads,” she said.
“The Coalition was funding road upgrades in every electorate across the nation with a $120b nationwide infrastructure investment pipeline and a commitment of $35.5b to Victorian road and rail projects since 2013.
“The communities of the Cardinia and Yarra Ranges Councils were just benefiting from a fair share of federal funding and the government should restore this funding in the next budget.”
