LOWAN member Emma Kealy has attacked a Victorian government road safety plan which could result in a lowering of speed limits on country roads.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Victorian Road Safety Strategy 2021 - 2030 is a long term plan which aims to half all road deaths in the state by 2030.
It comes after a parliamentary inquiry into Victoria's increasing road toll was tabled in early-2021.
Among the inquiry's findings was a recommendation to review speed limits across the road network, especially on poor-quality and regional roads where many deaths occur.
Ms Kealy described the policy as an admission of failure and said the state government should focus on fixing Victoria's 'crumbling regional road network'.
READ MORE:
"Labor cut the road maintenance budget by 25 per cent last year and now, because of crumbling roads and potholes, they plan to drop speed limits on country roads to 80km/h," she said.
"What makes this decision even harder to take is at the same time as maintenance funds are cut to just $617 million, we are seeing $52 billion being spent on four city-based transport projects.
"Even more infuriating is the $6 billion in cost over-runs on the West Gate Tunnel and Melbourne Metro projects.
"Labor's cost blowouts from mismanagement of city projects would go a long way to fixing our roads."
In response, a Victorian government spokesperson said there were no blanket plans to reduce speed limits on regional roads.
"There are no plans for blanket 80km/h speed reductions on arterial country roads. Local roads change at the request of the local council, and any speed limit changes will continue to be assessed on a case by case basis," the spokesperson said.
OTHER NEWS:
"Once again, this is cheap political point-scoring by the Victorian Liberal and National parties on the important issue of reducing the number of lives lost on our roads."
Ms Kealy called into question 2021's parliamentary inquiry into the state's road toll, which she said had a Labor majority.
"The opposition MPs on this committee vigorously opposed the recommendation, so any attempt to sell this as a bipartisan initiative is dishonest," she said.
"I find it galling that in its response to the recommendation that speed limits be reduced, the Andrews Government acknowledged that country communities would be concerned by the changes but said it would "educate" us on the risks of speed and links to road trauma."
However, the government spokesperson reputed this claim.
"A bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into the road toll recommended the speed limit on all rural and regional roads undergo a review - including support from a Liberal member and the Transport Matters Party. The proof is in the process - even the minority report identified there may be circumstances where speed changes are required."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.mailtimes.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Wim_Mail_Times
- Follow us on Instagram www.instagram.com/wimmeramailtimes/
Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up here.