Gippsland will be able to secure more federal funding for major roads if the Coalition wins the election on May 3, according to local MP Darren Chester.
A new Coalition Government will return to providing 80% of funding for nationally significant road projects in regional and rural Australia after the Labor Party cut the funding to just 50-50 across Victoria.
Mr Chester said Gippsland had missed out on critical road funding because of the Albanese Government’s decision to slash funding for regional road projects.
“Because the previous Coalition Government provided 80% of the funding for projects like the Princes Highway duplication between Traralgon and Sale, we were able to convince the State Government to chip in 20%,” Mr Chester said.
“But under the 50-50 model, we’ve seen funding dry up, and our local highway network is falling apart.
“The Albanese Government has retained its perfect record of no additional funding for roads during the entire term of this government.
“Regional Australians are five times more likely to die in a road crash than people in our cities, and the Labor Party has cut funding for major upgrades and maintenance.”
The majority of the national highway network runs through regional Australia, and Labor’s cuts meant these critical freight routes were denied the funding needed to maintain efficient, safe and productive supply chains.
“The Albanese Government ignored warnings from an independent review of federal road funding that scrapping the 80:20 funding formula would result in reduced investment in regional roads, and that is exactly what we have seen under Labor,” Mr Chester said.
