Victoria Collapsing Under Labor Yoke(SRL)

Is the $200 billion Suburban Rail Loop a joke or a yoke around the neck of all Victorians except CFMEU members.

Today Tim Pallas Vic Labor treasurer is in New York pleading, beseeching Standard & Poors and Moody's the big two Credit Rating Agencies not to downgrade Victoria to junk bond status.

Remember when the SLR was just a $5ob project (now $200b). Remember when North East Link was a $9.6b project (now $26b)? Do you see the pattern and problem here? I reckon the Credit Rating Agencies do.

And have a look at the article below published in the Herald Sun today detailing how the average road maintenance budget of around $200m per year has suddenly been slashed to a paltry $40m in 2023/24. Add to that hospital budgets slashed, promised new hospitals not proceeding (Melton, Torquay, Emerald Hill, Maroondah and Arden).

Look at the Great Ocen Road Parking backflip fiasco earlier this week. Trying to raise a paltry $11m. The proposal was junked after just two days of a public outcry.

The Allan government is in crisis, driven by very poor focus group outcomes and the deadly yoke of debt.

RIP Victoria.
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Allan government hits brakes on maintaining Vic’s crumbling roads

The Allan government has hit the brakes on maintaining Victoria’s deteriorating roads, sparking fears the state is facing a “maintenance time bomb”.
Shannon Deery
July 12, 2024 - 5:00AM

548 comments

The debt-ridden Allan government has hit the brakes on maintaining Victoria’s crumbling road network with new data showing road resurfacing works have dropped to their lowest levels in more than five years.
With hundreds of regional and metropolitan roads added to the state’s ballooning “roads in poor condition register” and subjected to restrictions because of their poor state, the government last year spent just $37.6m on resurfacing the road network.
It compared to $201.4m the previous year – 435 per cent more than current levels.
Data released to the parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee showed spending across metropolitan Melbourne has plummeted in recent years, from an average of $82m between 2018 and 2022 to $33m in recent years.



The significant drop in funding comes as the government works to rein in debt with latest forecasts projecting net debt to hit a staggering $188bn by 2027-28.

The government has been accused of stripping funding from its core responsibilities including health amid demands that the state’s hospitals significantly reduce their operating costs.

Concerns about road surface issues have been longstanding and last financial year contributed to at least 1158 claims received by the Department of Transport and Planning for property damage.
It can also be revealed the savage funding cuts came despite direct lobbying to government calling for a commitment to road resurfacing in July last year.
Correspondence sent to Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, seen by the Herald Sun, warned that “if we don’t continue to reseal our surfaced road network accommodate the service life of the bitumen our road network begins to decline at an accelerating rate.”
“A declining road network rapidly results in the formation of potholes due to a lack of waterproofing leading to more expense base pavement repairs and reconstruction,” it said.
“Our rural main road and highway network has quickly become one that resembles a patchwork quilt with short-term quick fixes becoming the norm.”

Potholes along Birchip-Rainbow Rd at Kenmare in the state’s northwest.
As at March 480 regional roads were currently subjected to speed limit reductions or driver warnings due to their poor state.
They include large stretches of road at Bullangarook, in central Victoria, and in Longford, in eastern Victoria, which have been reduced from 100km to 60kmh.
A further 61 metropolitan sites were also under restricted use, totalling almost 840km of the total road network.
Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O’Brien, said the latest data showed why a government survey had revealed 91 per cent of roads were in poor or very poor condition.
“What’s worse is that this dramatic reduction in road resurfacing and resealing work will lead to worse roads in the coming years,” he said.
“Resealing protects the road network against water penetration that causes potholes and damaged roads.
“By not doing this essential preventive maintenance, Jacinta Allan and Melissa Horne are creating a maintenance time bomb that will explode on Victorians in coming years.”


Large stretches of road in Longford, in eastern Victoria, have been reduced from 100km/h to 60km/h.

RACV’s Head of Policy, James Williams, called on both the federal and the Victorian state governments to invest in regional road maintenance and upgrades, with safety as a priority.
“RACV knows the impact that safe roads can have on preventing and minimising car crashes,” he said.
“The Victorian state government collects information relating to the quality of Victoria’s roads, which includes road damage and AusRAP star safety ratings.
“However, more transparency is required on the quality of roads and where road funding is allocated, and RACV supports the Australia Automobile Association in calling on government to publicly release this data.”
A government spokesman blamed “repeated flooding and above-average rainfall” for causing unprecedented damage to the road network.
“We needed to pause resurfacing and focus on rebuilding and strengthening damaged roads, now this work is complete resurfacing levels will significantly increase during the upcoming maintenance season,” she said.