Reports today that custom-built Drug and Alcohol buses will be again delayed until February 2020 is the latest delay to hit Daniel Andrews’ beleaguered booze buses. In March 2018, Police Minister Lisa Neville boasted 10 new custom-built drug and alcohol buses had “hit the road” in time for the busy Easter period. Yet, almost immediately, 6 of the 10 buses were sidelined due to mechanical and electrical faults and the timeline for their repairs has again been pushed out – mean

The Andrews Labor Government’s personal attack on the Auditor-General over his report on the dodgy West Gate Tunnel deal with Transurban lays bare Labor’s desperation. The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO)’s report on Market-led Proposals examined the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel deal between the Labor Government and Transurban. This sweetheart deal – which never went to tender and was signed while Treasurer Tim Pallas had shares in Transurban – is a stinker for Vict

Questions have again been raised about the rollout of wire rope barriers following two serious incidents in four days. This morning, a truck rolled on the Princes Highway after reportedly clipping a wire rope barrier. The driver of that vehicle was tragically killed. Police will look into the design of the wire rope barrier as part of the investigation. On Friday, a caller to 3AW implicated the barriers in a grassfire which closed the Hume Freeway at Clonbinane in both direct

My question is to the Minister for Roads. The 2019 AAMI crash index has just been released, which confirms that Plenty Road, Bundoora, is the worst location for collisions in Australia. When is the government going to fix Plenty Road? Minister, the same report also shines a light on Maroondah Highway, Ringwood, which has deteriorated from the 14th worst to the fourth worst in the league table. What interventions is the government taking on Maroondah Highway to address that de

Labor’s Minister for Roads, Jaala Pulford, today appeared bewildered and unclear about the introduction of tolls on existing CityLink roads in recent months. The Minister appeared unaware that toll hikes are hurting families and small businesses. She should have owned up to the fact these tolls are being deliberately imposed on existing roads to pay for the construction of Daniel Andrews’ West Gate Tunnel. She blithely said people ‘had alternatives.’ This insensitive response

Last week as the 2019 road toll tragically surpassed the 2018 total, police resources were being diverted from important road safety work to babysit disruptive protestors in Melbourne’s CBD. Having a highly visible police presence on our roads is essential – but police have said that last week proactive policing programs, including road safety programs, were cut back because of increased resources needed at the protests. While everyone has a right to protest, it should not co

214 people have tragically lost their lives on Victorian roads this year. That’s more deaths already in 2019 than the entirety of 2018, and we still have 11 weeks remaining in 2019. This is a tragic milestone that has devastated far too many Victorian families. Each and every one of those 214 lives lost are a mother, father, sister or brother who won’t walk back through the door home, leaving behind grieving family and friends. The death toll on rural and regional roads so fa

Rural and regional Victorians want assurances that money for road maintenance will be spent properly and result in high quality, long lasting repairs. Too often we see a Band-Aid approach to regional road repairs. The roads are patched and then fall apart weeks later. Almost two years ago, the Auditor General found that not enough funding is allocated to road maintenance to sustain the road network and that VicRoads cannot demonstrate clearly that it is making the best use of

Today’s rally in Manangatang shows Daniel Andrews can no longer ignore pleas from desperate communities across country Victoria who are demanding rural roads be fixed, and not just have their speed limits slashed. In response to the Andrews Labor Government lowering the speed limit from 100km/h to 80km/h on a key freight route because of lack of maintenance, residents in the state’s north are protesting this lazy and dangerous approach to a serious problem. Daniel Andrews’ la

The Victorian Road Safety Camera Commissioner has highlighted a legal loophole which is allowing speeding and dangerous drivers to stay on the road. The Road Safety Commissioner has identified an alarming number of driving infringements issued to corporate owned vehicles where no driver was nominated – meaning the company faces a greater fine but the driver escapes the punishment they would otherwise receive. Over a two year period from July 2016 to June 2018, the Road Safety

Daniel Andrews has hinted he will move to implement a Liberal Nationals policy to crack down on drug drivers on Victorian roads, but not until 2020. But plans to launch a review of drug driving laws is too little too late from a Premier playing catch-up on road safety. The announcement of a "sweeping multi-agency review" followed by potential legislative changes to be introduced by 2020 will provide little comfort to road users as 60 more Victorians than last year have lost t

In Question Time in Parliament today Premier Daniel Andrews conceded that action is needed to change laws that allow drug-drivers off with soft penalties. This comes months after Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien announced that the Liberal Nationals would bring drug-driving penalties into line with those applicable to drink-driving. When sentencing a drug-driving offender earlier this month Magistrate Frank Holzer stated that: “There's a gap in the legislative regime where dr

In Question Time in Parliament Daniel Andrews again refused to commit to build the East West Link, despite warnings from traffic experts that, without the East West Link, the Eastern Freeway faces deepening traffic chaos. Transport expert Andrew O’Brien confirmed that widening the Eastern Freeway to 20 lanes will channel up to 100,000 extra cars onto the Eastern Freeway, causing chaos at the T-intersection with Hoddle Street. Andrew O’Brien told a hearing on the environment e