Who will match the $6m road pledge?

Mansfield Shire Council has thrown down the challenge to all sides of politics to match a $6 million election commitment for the municipality’s roads and bridges. Following last week’s announcement that a Liberal-National Coalition Government would restore the Country Roads and Bridges Program and provide Mansfield Shire with $1.5 million a year for four years, Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said Council wanted to see the road funding issue extend beyond one side of politics for the November state election. “We want to see this kind of commitment across the board,” Cr Rabie said. “Every party and every candidate seeking to represent regional Victoria should be putting forward a genuine plan for local roads and road safety.” The Coalition’s proposal would restore dedicated annual funding that councils could direct to their own priority road and bridge projects, rather than requiring them to compete through individual grant programs. For Mansfield, it would mean $6 million over four years. Cr Rabie said that certainty was particularly important for regional councils trying to maintain large and ageing road networks with comparatively small ratepayer bases. “Local roads are the backbone of daily life across regional Victoria,” he said. “They get our kids to school, our farmers to market and our visitors to the businesses that contribute to our local economy. “Any commitment that gives councils certainty to plan and deliver road and bridge works, rather than competing for funding through short-term grant rounds, is a welcome step.” Mansfield Shire Council is responsible for more than 840 kilometres of local roads, including about 585 kilometres of unsealed roads, as well as dozens of bridges. Council has previously pointed to the size of that network, spread across a 3843-square-kilometre municipality with relatively few ratepayers, as one of the reasons road maintenance places such pressure on its budget. The Coalition commitment is part of a $288 million statewide proposal that would give each of Victoria’s 48 rural and regional councils $1.5 million annually for four years. Mansfield is not alone in calling for the funding model to receive support across party lines. East Gippsland Shire Council this week welcomed the Coalition announcement but also called for bipartisan support for the program, or a matching scheme, while councils in western Victoria have been campaigning for the return of long-term Country Roads and Bridges funding ahead of the election. Roads are rapidly shaping as a major state election issue. The Labor Government has separately announced an additional $352 million to double pothole repairs across Victoria’s state-managed road network, but Mansfield Council’s push is for a guaranteed stream of funding that can be spent directly by councils on the local roads and bridges they manage. The debate has intensified following a Victorian Auditor-General’s report tabled this week which found around 48 per cent of the state road network was in poor or very poor condition in 2024, up from 39 per cent in 2021. The audit also found the road maintenance backlog was growing and said the Department of Transport and Planning had advised the government that funding was insufficient to maintain or improve the condition of state roads. While those findings relate to state-managed roads rather than Council’s local network, they add to growing pressure on political parties to spell out how they will tackle road maintenance ahead of the November 28 election. Cr Rabie said an extra $1.5 million each year would be a significant boost for Mansfield, but Council did not want regional road funding to depend on which party won government. “The return of the Country Roads and Bridges Program would represent an additional $1.5 million for Mansfield Shire each year – that would be a welcome boost,” he said. “We need all levels of government to work together on a long-term approach to regional road maintenance and safety that offers value for money, rather than relying on election-cycle announcements.” Council said it would continue pressing all sides of politics for the funding required to keep Mansfield Shire’s roads safe, maintained and fit for the future.