The roadworks that this government have been dragged kicking and screaming to deliver in my electorate are being questioned by many constituents. They are concerned about the quality of the work.
An example is a particular section of the Henty Highway, which is in a terrible state. When the work began regular users were thrilled. That thrill lasted a few days when the repair job started to fail, so it was fixed up again and good for another couple of weeks before that failed again.
Four times, this one section of road has been repaired. There are many examples like this, which are a disgraceful waste of money. How many other sections of road could have been repaired with the money that has been spent fixing sections of road over and over again?
We have been building roads in this country for hundreds of years. Many experienced constituents tell me that the material is not being used correctly and the technique is wrong. Have corners been cut? Are savings having to be made on materials or labour to stretch a shrinking budget further? The community expects these works to be done to a certain standard, and this government needs to ensure that the standards are met. Clearly the government is failing when repairs are repeatedly falling apart in a matter of weeks, much to the horror of my community.
Once again the government is spending money on roads and getting nothing to show for it, a bit like the east–west link. How can the people of South-West Coast feel assured the money they have long asked for to fix their roads is being used effectively when they see the same patches of road being fixed over and over again?
Rather than pouring money into substandard repairs, this government needs to make real commitments to fund full rebuilds of these roads, not just re-announce packages in the budget so they can get another pat on the back and hoodwink people into thinking they are actually doing something to fix the perilous condition of our roads.
