The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says regional Victoria has been left abandoned in the wake of the Victorian and federal government’s city-centric cash splash announced earlier today.
VFF President Brett Hosking said decision makers were playing politics and prioritising votes ahead of fixing genuine issues across Victoria.
“It’s a genuine slap in the face for those living outside of Melbourne. Both the Commonwealth and Victorian governments are proving they have no interest in taking action to fix roads outside of marginal electorates.”
“This funding announcement was billed as ‘Victoria’s fair share.’ It should be rebranded as ‘Melbourne’s fair share’, as there is little to smile about from a regional Victorian’s perspective.”
“Country roads are crumbling and it’s not only costing tens of millions in lost productivity, tragically people are paying for it with their lives.”
“Just recently I called on decision makers to urgently increase funding into our regional roads in the wake of a soaring regional road toll. That’s clearly fallen on deaf ears and to be honest it’s a disgrace,” Mr Hosking said.
“The $20 million announced for a business case into improving high productivity freight vehicle access is another case of government spending money not to make decisions or pick up a shovel.”
“If they just talk to farmers we would tell them exactly the bridges that need to be upgraded to allow for these trucks to get rolling. I doubt the bridges at places like Bridgewater and Numurkah will be on the Prime Minister’s list of visits during the election campaign.”
Mr Hosking added that there’s a genuine sense from those outside of Melbourne being treated as second-class citizens when it comes to receiving a fair slice of funding.
“For over a decade now, regional Victoria has been neglected and we won’t accept it any longer. It’s not a matter of crying poor, just a matter of fairness and we’re clearly getting the rough end of the stick.”
“Regional Victoria’s population is roughly on par with a city the size of Adelaide and we are Australia’s agriculture economic powerhouse. We can’t grow without investment and we’re not getting it.”
“We’ll be asking for an urgent please explain from both levels of government regarding this announcement,” Mr Hosking concluded.