The Coalition policy will also include improvements to roadside maintenance, such as grass slashing, graffiti removal and drain clearance, and increase departmental and contractor accountability through a review of construction standards and maintenance contracts.
Ms Wilson said while $15-billion had been lost to the government’s Big Build, roads were littered with dangerous potholes that were causing damage to vehicles.
“Drivers shouldn’t be the ones footing the bill for blown tyres, cracked rims and worse because Jacinta Allan and Labor cannot get the basics right,” she said.
Mr O’Brien said addressing the crisis in the state’s roads would be a top priority for a Coalition government, which has also committed to a Fair Share Guarantee, where 25 per cent of the state’s infrastructure spending would be directed to the regions.
“Roads have been falling apart across Victoria and Victorians are fed-up with half-hearted patch-up jobs that quickly fall apart,” he said.
“The $5-billion is basically what we need to start to really turn the roads around, but also what we can afford – we’ve got to balance that as a responsible economic manager – we’ve made significant savings already through our 10-year budget plan, and some of that will be put towards this program.”
Member for Lowan Emma Kealy said the community had been ‘crying out for decades’ for better funding for roads, and the announcement was the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.
“As a Nationals member, we live in regional Victoria, we bounce over those potholes every day, we understand what it’s like for businesses and for people who just want to make sure their kids are getting to sport or getting to school safely,” she said.
Ms Kealy said it wasn’t just about fixing potholes, the Coalition wanted a better system.
“We also want to make sure we build better roads, which is why we will establish Better Roads Victoria as a sub-department within the government to make sure we rehire those engineers and the people who understand how to build a better road that is fit for purpose for our local transport needs,” she said.
The Victorian Farmers Federation, VFF, says the Coalition’s $5-billion commitment to fix Victorian’s crumbling roads is a step in the right direction, but warns much more is needed to fix Victoria’s road network.
VFF president and Minyip farmer Ryan Milgate said the overall funding commitment fell short of what regional stakeholders had identified as necessary to reverse years of underinvestment, with closer to a 50 per cent uplift required.
Mr Milgate said the Coalition’s commitment recognised the deplorable state of the road network and the urgent need for substantial investment to get them fixed.
“Farmers, transport operators and regional communities rely on safe, reliable roads every single day, and we’ve been calling for governments of all persuasions to reverse a generation of neglect and make fixing our road network a priority,” he said.
“We encourage all political parties to continue building on this announcement as we head towards the November election.”
While the VFF also welcomed the Coalition’s commitment to establish Better Roads Victoria, Mr Milgate said it was important the vast majority of the funding was actually used to fix roads and not tied up in red-tape and middle management.
The VFF launched a campaign last week following a meeting with Roads Minister Ros Spence and regional stakeholders, where it was made clear local reporting was critical to getting repairs prioritised.
The campaign follows new VFF analysis from State Budget figures showing a 75 per cent drop in Victoria’s road repair target in the past five years.
People can report potholes and road hazards by calling 13 11 70, visiting the VicRoads website or the Snap Send Solve app.
– Lauren Henry
The entire July 15, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
