Even when being urged by members of Victoria Police to do something about the state of country roads, Roads Minister Jaala Pulford sticks to government spin.
Following on from a serious accident on the Warracknabeal-Rainbow Rd where a woman was injured, Leading Senior Constable Tony Clark told the Warracknabeal Herald that:
“VicRoads seriously needs to give attention to country roads as something like this or worse has been waiting to happen.”
The woman was forced off the edge of a single lane section of bitumen and her car rolled twice after she hit what Leading Senior Constable Clark described as:
“a dangerous drop off, approximately three or four inches from the road surface to the dirt.”
But in Question Time, Minister Pulford continued to spin the lines that the Government was doing “significant work” on rural and regional roads.
She also said it was false that people were not seeing a difference in the condition of roads following what she described as a “maintenance blitz”.
Even when members of Victoria Police, who are dealing first hand with the consequences of unsafe road surfaces are calling for action, the Minister just spins the same line.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Rural Roads, Roma Britnell:
“If the Minister thinks people are seeing significant differences in the condition of rural and regional roads – she needs to get out of Spring Street a bit more.
“Every single day I hear from people across the state that their roads are in shocking condition and they are getting worse, not better.
“The Minister needs to drop the government spin, get out of her office and see for herself the appallingly dangerous condition of rural and regional roads.”