Council
14 February, 2025
Britnell calls for better roads
CLAIMS by the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) that poor road conditions are contributing to deaths on roads have been supported by Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell.
In a recent statement in parliament, Ms Britnell said that given the government cuts to road maintenance, and the poor state of the roads, it was “hard to deny that roads are contributing factors.”
“Just 37 days into 2025 and we already had five people lose their lives on roads in the south west of Victoria; this is a travesty,” Ms Britnell said.
New figures from the Transport Accident Commission showed there had been a 156 per cent increase in deaths on rural roads in the last five years.
“These aren’t just statistics, these are our friends, family and loved ones.”
According to Ms Britnell, the VFF claimed Victorians were now paying for years of roads neglect with their lives.
“The government likes to boast about how much it spends on roads, but Victorians know the reality of our pothole riddled road network,” Ms Britnell said.
“Our roads urgently need to be fixed. The Allan Labor Government needs to stop ignoring how frightful they have become.”
Regional Victorians pay their taxes too and regional Victorians matter.
“The tragic reality is you’re more than three times likely to lose your life when driving on country roads, compared to driving in Melbourne,” Ms Britnell said.
“No one is denying that the road toll is exacerbated by speeding, fatigue, distraction and impairment. However, like the VFF stated, it’s difficult to ignore the terrible road condition and the likelihood that they are a large contributing factor.”
“Enough is enough. I call upon the government to urgently address major funding shortfalls to rectify our country roads.”
She added that over the past year, government spending on resurfacing and resealing roads had dropped by a whopping 81 per cent.
“That only condemns our roads to ruin and sadly that’s now a reality.
“It’s time for the government to provide car worthy roads.”
Ms Britnell believes that drivers are currently playing a daily game of road roulette.
“If we accept this ‘road toll’ as the price of a rural lifestyle or getting from A to B, then another 2,500 people will die in the next 10 years and 50,000 people will be hospitalised with serious and life changing injuries.
“The price we pay for using regional road shouldn’t be death or serious injury.”
