Federal Nationals Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, says the Albanese Government should immediately abandon its plan to lower regional speed limits to as low as 70 kilometres per hour.
“The people of the Riverina electorate want hot cash for hot asphalt, they do not want to be throttled by this Labor Government that continues to show disdain for regional, rural and remote communities,” Mr McCormack said.
“The Albanese Government’s plan to slash default speed limits on rural roads in poor condition is a shortcut solution to the Labor-driven problem of stripping funding out of regional, rural, and remote areas.
“My office has been contacted several times by constituents concerned about this poorly conceived proposal – raising issues such as the increase in travel times exacerbating fatigue levels, as well as not addressing the core issue of giving Councils the resources to fix roads in poor condition.
“One of the main reasons this government is considering this preposterous proposal is not even about road safety – it is about reducing emissions. This is another slap in the face for regional communities who are already doing the heavy lifting under the Labor Government’s reckless rush to renewables.
“This will only put the brakes on regional productivity and hurt those in regional areas that are already suffering from this government’s bad decisions pushing prices up and driving productivity down.
“Programs such as the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program, which I established when Deputy Prime Minister, have been axed by this Labor Government, which has proven time and again it does not care about the regions.
“The government must listen to feedback from regional people who gave feedback during the consultation period – they want the government to invest in fixing our roads, not cutting speed limits and ignoring deteriorating roads.”
The Labor Government has cut Coalition programs designed to ensure the regions get a fair share of road funding, including the Roads of National Significance and the Bridges Renewal Program. The Labor Government has also slashed its contribution to road upgrade projects from 80 per cent to 50 per cent.
