The Allan Labor Government continues to take short cuts on fixing Victoria’s appalling roads, its latest move to privatise a key road maintenance agency.
Government-owned Sprayline Road Services, which repairs roads across the Loddon-Mallee, Grampians and eastern metropolitan Melbourne areas, will be off-loaded to a private operator by July 1 next year.
Maintenance services will be “re-tendered” to private contractors and Sprayline’s spray sealing operations will be sold through a bidding process.
The sell-off comes amid a backdrop of crumbling roads and savage cuts to maintenance in recent years.
Despite spruiking a record spend on roads, the government will in the next year undertake 93 per cent less patching works than it did last year.
That’s on top of a 13 per cent reduction to road re-sealing and rehabilitation activities.
Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O’Brien, said the privatisation of the key body underlined Labor’s attitude to the state of our roads.
“How will privatising Sprayline benefit Victorians and improve the state of our roads? Labor has a lot of explaining to do given we’re all sick and tired of dodging potholes,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Despite all the spin, the cuts to the maintenance budget in recent years has been dramatic. This must not impact on repair works.
“Labor should guarantee that any proceeds of the sale go back into fixing our roads.
“Funds from the sale should not get sucked into the budget black hole that Labor has created through waste and irresponsible spending.
“Labor can’t manage money and Victorians are paying the price.”
Mr O’Brien said the sale of Sprayline – established by the former Kennett government in 1997 as a government-owned entity – was a stunning example of hypocrisy.
“Labor continues to rail against privatisation when undertaken by the Liberals and Nationals but flogs off anything that isn’t nailed down when it needs the money,” Mr O’Brien said.
