The Labor Government has cut $230 million from road safety programs across the past two years at the same time it failed on its own targets to fix the road network, a Parliamentary inquiry heard.
Evidence revealed that $150 million was cut from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) funded Safer System Road Infrastructure Program.
In another alarming revelation, the marketing and road safety spend of TAC also fell $81 million short of its budget in the past two financial years.
This comes as Victoria is facing another horror road toll, with road deaths already 20 per cent higher than the same time last year.
It was also revealed that road pavement resurfaced or rehabilitated was 30 per cent below the Government’s target.
The Nationals Member for Mildura, Jade Benham has stressed the fact that the Mildura region is Australia’s food bowl and our roads are tasked with carrying that food to market, but they also must be safe enough for our families.
“Labor’s road safety cuts and a 45 per cent reduction in road maintenance spending since 2020 is endangering lives, especially those traveling in regional areas,” Ms Benham said.
“Premier Jacinta Allan can’t manage money, can’t manage projects and is failing to fix our roads.
“Our roads are in a dire state and the Government admits it’s not keeping up, yet it continues to fail to provide the funding needed to fix up the mess.
“The fact that it also cut safety funding is a serious concern at a time our road toll is rising.
“We have more lives being lost on our roads, we have thousands of motorists experiencing vehicle damage annually due to potholes and dodgy roads and yet Labor continues to cut road funding.”
