I recently shared on social media a video of the shocking condition of the Calder Highway near Berriwillock which attracted over four million views. Victorians shared the video because the horror is real.

Potholes have become the evidence of a state in tragic decline — a daily, unavoidable reminder that Labor federal and state governments neglect regional Victorians and let our roads, our services and our sense of safety fall apart.

When a pothole opens up, a road edge crumbles or a dangerous depression develops in the highway surface, the Victorian Government is responsible for the repairs.  

While Canberra does not dispatch crews to repair road surfaces in Horsham, Nhill or Dimboola, recent Federal Budget figures show Victoria's share of the Commonwealth's $120 billion infrastructure pipeline has fallen from 17.4 per cent to 16.4 per cent. The Albanese Labor Government cut federal funding for Victorian road projects by $113.5 million in the most recent Federal Budget.

Federal Labor’s road investment in Victoria is projected to plummet from $2.6 billion in 2026-27 to $1.9 billion in 2027/8, then just $1.0 billion in 2028/9 and a paltry $701.9 million by 2029-30.

Billions of federal taxpayer dollars are instead being directed towards the Suburban Rail Loop while country communities suffer on dangerous and deadly roads.

Victorians are justifiably angry. 74 per cent of Victorians are pessimistic about the direction our state is heading, and 65 per cent say our roads and potholes need repair.

The National Transport Research Organisation rates 91 per cent of Victoria’s state roads as in poor or very poor condition, and the remaining 9 per cent as only ‘fair’. Nothing good. That’s a huge increase from the Auditor-General’s 2024 findings that 48 per cent were in poor or very poor condition.

Thankfully, a change of government in November would see The Nationals in Coalition deliver $5 billion in road maintenance over 4 years – a 24 per cent uplift – and eliminate 1 million potholes.

Labor plays politics with regional Victorians’ lives while The Nationals know you deserve safety, respect and investment.

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