By Corey Everitt
The condition of roads in Cardinia’s rail towns has been put to the forefront of Parliament with local MP Wayne Farnham slamming the State Government’s funding for road maintenance.
It was revealed recently that the State Government’s spent $37 million on road resurfacing works in the 2023-24 financial year.
This compares to the over $150 million spent each year through the 2018-19 to 2022-23 financial years.
A recent survey of regional road users by RACV showed that 60 percent of respondents thought that improving road surfaces should be a priority.
This figure has put attention on some of Cardinia’s worst roads along the rail towns from Nar Nar Goon to Longwarry.
Narracan MP Wayne Farnham stated last week in Parliament that his office is receiving calls ‘every day’ from residents regarding the state of his electorate’s roads.
“The Allan Labor Government have savagely cut the roads maintenance budget and motorists are now starting to see the devastating impact across the state,” he said to the Gazette.
“Road rehabilitation and resurface programs have been cut by at least 75 percent and the most recent RACV roads survey confirmed the condition of road surfaces are now the number one concern for drivers.”
Farnham said recently a specialist travelling to West Gippsland Hospital from the city had to hitchhike after hitting a pothole on the Princes Highway.
Bunyip local Roman Kulkewycz reported that his daughter recently had to pay over $400 to replace a rim damaged by a local pothole.
“I’m not sure what they use to fill the potholes because it’s not a permanent fix, when it rains they all open up again, it’s just terrible,” he said.
Emphasis draws toward Nar Nar Goon – Longwarry Road, Bunyip resident and fire brigade member for over 60 years John Beavis said he tends to avoid that road when he has to travel to Pakenham as it’s ‘a bit ordinary’.
“The roads seem to be the same way everywhere, they are spending a lot of money on other projects, overspending on them,” he said.
“It seems that essential services are the ones suffering, health, roads, emergency services.”
“I don’t the priorities are quite right, the works have been going on between Bunyip and Longwarry Stations for years now and I believe they have gone millions over budget.”
Farnham blames ‘Labor’s mismanagement’ for the poor state of roads.
“We’ve seen billions wasted on blowouts and interest payments which should have been used for infrastructure, road upgrades and our struggling healthcare system,” he said.
“Labor cannot manage money and it is Victorians who are now paying for their failures.”
A spokesperson for the State Government pushed back against Farnham as they promise almost a billion in funding will go to road maintenance in 2024-25.
Victorian Government spokesperson
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising that the Liberals and Nationals continue to misrepresent our investment in road maintenance across the state – this year alone we will invest $964 million into our roads,” they said.
“This report tells us what we already know – that the major weather events of the past few years have had a big impact on our roads and what were once considered once-in-a-generation flood events are becoming commonplace.
“We know how important these roads are for the community and visitors to the region, that’s why we’ve delivered $3 million of major road repairs in Narracan over the past two years with more works under review as part of our upcoming maintenance season.”
