My question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and I am seeking further information about the funding allocated for a more productive road network for freight in the 2021–22 budget papers.
Minister, as you know, I wrote to you with a request from key freight industry representatives asking for a more uniform approach to permit systems for high-productivity freight vehicles to have easier access to the Victorian road network. The current system is inefficient and is adding unnecessary costs to businesses.
It requires individual assessments for every single vehicle accessing the network, even if it is almost exactly the same as the previously permitted vehicle. A bridge assessment fee is also applied to every new application, a fee that is unique to Victoria. This funding package looks like it will deliver what the industry and I have been advocating for, but the detail in the budget listing seems scant and does not clearly outline the finer details of what will be delivered or when it will be delivered.
So, Minister, I ask for further information on what is being invested in—which has clearly been made from pressure from me and the industry.
