Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has accused the Federal Government of ignoring increased road trauma risks as it delays the release of the 90-day Strategic Review of the Infrastructure Investment Program.
Mr Chester has repeatedly raised his concerns in Federal Parliament and also spoke at the Australian Local Government Association’s roads congress in Canberra.
“At a time when road trauma is increasing, we are enduring potholes and an arterial road network which is falling apart, and it is unforgivable for the Albanese Government to be delaying funding for road safety improvements in regional Australia,” Mr Chester said.
“I fear this review process, which has already blown out to 130 days, is simply putting at risk projects that I have been working on to improve infrastructure outcomes for our region for several years. Every project in Gippsland is getting more expensive while we wait for the outcomes of this review.”
Mr Chester told Parliament this week that road trauma is costing Australia more than $30 billion per year and more than 1200 lives but governments were failing to improve the safety of the road environment.
“There is a responsibility for all levels of government—local, state and federal—to work in partnership on these issues. It’s just too easy, today, to always blame the drivers,” Mr Chester said.
“We need a safe-system approach to this issue. A safe-system approach is all about safer drivers, safer cars, safer speeds and safer roads—and we don’t talk about the roads enough.
“Right now, in my state of Victoria, my car has to be roadworthy, but the roads aren’t ‘car worthy’. We have potholes, roads with poor shoulders and a lack of overtaking and rest opportunities for drivers. The roads are simply not car worthy, and it’s a direct result of a lack of investment, over a long period of time, in the road environment.
“There is not a single road project in our country that’s getting cheaper by waiting. While this review is going on, people are at risk of being killed and injured on our roads because we can’t get the money out the door, and this is going to go on for another few months.
“So I call on the Minister to hurry up and deliver the outcomes of this review and get the work started with the infrastructure investment pipeline projects that can deliver road safety improvements in our country.
“The Federal Government’s Infrastructure Investment Program should have an increased focus on saving lives in our regions, not just saving minutes for city commuters.”
