Victorians are putting up with a pothole every 100 metres across the state’s roads while just two per cent of people who’ve made a claim for damage caused by bad roads have been successful.
Graffiti on the road network has also exploded, with the Department of Transport and Planning removing seven times the amount of graffiti from roads and freeways so far in 2025/26 than it did last year.
The shocking state of Victoria’s roads was revealed at Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearings this afternoon, where it was also revealed there are 185 sections of road subject to speed limit reductions due to the poor state of the road.
Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O’Brien, said despite Labor’s claims of record road maintenance spending, our roads are still in appalling state.
“Victorians are paying for this every day through damage to their vehicles and yet few ever get compensation for the damage caused. PAEC was told 592 motorists have lodged a claim for compensation, but just 13 have been successful.
“The Committee heard today the government has filled 211,212 potholes so far this financial year – across the state’s 23,000 km, that’s roughly a pothole every 100 metres.
“Most Victorians won’t be surprised to learn this figure, nor that it hasn’t changed now for several years.
“The problem is, filling potholes is a measure of failure, because Labor hasn’t been doing the preventative maintenance needed to stop them forming in the first place.
“Despite the government’s claims of additional maintenance spending, the area of road that will either be patched, resurfaced or rehabilitated, continues to go backwards. Five years ago, the government was fixing nearly 12 million squares metres of road in regional Victoria, yet this year it’s less than 3 million square metres.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage our roads and it’s Victorians who are paying the price.”
