Thursday 12 February 2015
Country Victorians will be dodging more pot holes than ever on their local roads because Daniel Andrews has ripped $375 million out of the rural roads budget.
Daniel Andrews had refused to continue the popular $160 million Country Roads and Bridges Program and is also snatching money from other rural road maintenance funds in order to remove level crossings in metropolitan Melbourne.
Disgracefully the Andrews Government is now trying to re-write history saying funding for Country Roads and Bridges had expired. In fact the program is funded in the Budget until June 30 this year and the Liberal-Nationals Coalition had committed to funding it for another four years if elected.
The fund was introduced by Coalition Government to assist Victoria’s 40 country councils with road and bridge works by providing each council with $4 million over four years.
Our Country Roads and Bridges Program meant country Victorians and their families had better safer roads to travel while local councils had more money to spend on other important community programs and infrastructure.
Last year the Coalition Government’s total investment on roads maintenance was over $500 million. This compares to Daniel Andrews’ plan to invest $1 billion over eight years into regional roads – which is just $125 million a year.
So the Andrews Labor Government has actually cut the roads budget by $375 million a year.
Daniel Andrews and Labor do not care about country communities and they have made that clear today by refusing to continue the Country Roads and Bridges Program.