Regional Roads Victoria has been dismantled and dumped by the Allan Labor Government in another glaring example of its lack of care for regional Victoria.
Regional Roads Victoria was announced with much fanfare by the then Roads Minister in 2018 with a claim that “regional Victorians will get the attention they deserve”.
That was quickly revealed to be political spin, with roads in regional areas deteriorating under budget cuts and a lack of maintenance before the agency was quietly buried.
Regional Roads Victoria’s website has now been removed, its call centre number is disconnected, and its Facebook page has gone untouched since last year.
In its place, a new “Transport Victoria” website was launched last month to promote the government’s road and active transport activities.
The news comes as a government survey last year found that 91 per cent of roads were in a “poor” or “very poor” state.
The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, said roads in her region were a constant cause of distress for locals.
“Every week I am contacted by people in our community who have grave concerns about roads in our region,” Ms Cleeland said.
“It’s getting to the point where it would be easier to list which roads haven’t been mentioned.
“Seeing the potholes, crumbling roadsides, and collapsed wire barriers across our road network has made it clear how little this Labor Government cares for our roads.
“Regional Roads Victoria was touted as a dedicated agency that would give our communities roads that we could rely on but is obvious now that it was all talk.
“There has been a steady erosion of road funding by the Allan Labor Government has crippled the capacity to carry out full-depth repairs, and even basic waterproofing, and left our roads in an unacceptable state of disrepair.
“Now, the potholes have become so severe that instead of driving on the left side of the road, regional Victorians are forced to drive on what is left of the road.”