Media Releases

The Nationals Member for Shepparton, Jeanette Powell said works to restore the road surface on the Tatura-Undera Road, north of Tatura have commenced.

“The Victorian Coalition Government has provided additional funding to VicRoads so that further rehabilitation works can proceed at locations in the district where the road surface requires repair,” Mrs Powell said.

“Approximately 100 metres of Tatura-Undera Road requires pavement works to restore the road surface.
“VicRoads will also install a new culvert which will improve drainage.

“In the past 18 months, a number of major flood and storm events have occurred throughout Victoria.
“This has caused the surface of many roads to deteriorate more rapidly than usual.

“I’m pleased to announce that Tatura-Undera Road, like a number of other roads throughout the region, will be improved thanks to additional rehabilitation funding,” Mrs Powell said.

Traffic lights will be in operation during work hours, and there will be speed reductions in place during the construction period for the safety of work crews and motorists.

Motorists should be aware of the change in road conditions and obey speed limits throughout the site.

The works will be completed by early March, weather permitting.

Member for Shepparton Jeanette Powell has received a response from the Minister for Roads and Ports regarding her call for improved safety measures on the Peter Ross Edwards Causeway.
Mrs Powell raised the issue with the Premier in Parliament last July following another serious accident which closed the causeway and caused huge disruptions to traffic.
“Six people were injured and tragically a four year old boy died of his injuries,” Mrs Powell said.
“When told of the accident and the issue with poor lighting, the Premier stated: “Obviously it’s a tragic terrible accident that’s occurred and if we can do something with the lighting we will.”
“I urged the Premier in Parliament to honour that commitment.
“He referred the matter to the Minister for Roads and Ports who has advised me police investigating the crash have indicated there were not any road-related factors involved.
“He also advised that any proposals for improvements will be prioritised on a region wide and state wide basis.”
Mrs Powell said the Peter Ross Edwards Causeway is very dangerous at any time, given the mix of large vehicles and smaller vehicles and narrow lanes and this accident again highlights the need for lighting and road separation.
“People who travel the road have told me how vulnerable they feel, particularly because of the mix of traffic with large trucks, school buses, family cars and people on motorbikes,” Mrs Powell said.
“This road has higher than normal commercial vehicle traffic and needs to be made safer for the people travelling along it.
“At peak times there is a constant stream of traffic as many people live in Mooroopna and work in Shepparton or vice versa.
“The evidence and driver experiences tell us that the Causeway is a very dangerous road and needs to be improved.
“I will continue to raise this issue with the Minister for Roads urging him to review the safety of the causeway and honour the Premier’s commitment,” Mrs Powell said.

An independent report has confirmed John Brumby is failing to provide adequate funding to help councils maintain basic road infrastructure requirements, Shadow Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell said today.

“The report into the study of local roads, commissioned by the Australian Local Government Association, found that an additional $1.2 billion was needed every year just to maintain the current standard of the local road network,” Mrs Powell said.

The report found that although councils had increased rates in an effort to meet funding shortfalls, there was still not enough funding available to cater for roads maintenance.

The report says the magnitude of funding local roads was beyond the capacity of ‘cash-strapped and resource constrained councils’ and that a ‘dramatic’ increase in funding was needed.

“Any local council in rural or regional Victoria will tell you not enough funding is being provided for local road infrastructure,” Mrs Powell said.

“I have met with over 30 rural and regional councils and they have told me they are experiencing increased traffic flows and larger transport loads which impacts heavily on the state of their roads.

“Constant cost shifting by John Brumby has also meant many rural councils with large geographic areas and small populations are struggling to maintain their roads and bridges.

“This has led to substantial rate increases across the state and forced many councils to double their rates over the past 11 years under Labor.

“The roads report has made it very clear that more needs to be done by the State and Federal Labor Governments to support local councils to maintain basic local road and bridge infrastructure and to provide the services required by the community,” Mrs Powell said.

Member for Shepparton, Jeanette Powell presented petitions with another 653 names of concerned residents and road users on the need for an urgent upgrade to Doyles Road to Parliament last week.
Mrs Powell said this brings to 842 names on petitions presented to the Parliament and shows the great concern amongst residents and road users about safety issues along Doyles Road.
“I originally raised the issue in Parliament with the Minister for Roads in June and he advised me that VicRoads will investigate the causes of crashes along Doyles Road to determine whether there are road-related factors that could be fixed by safety improvement works,” Mrs Powell said.
“The evidence is already available for the State government to take into account that the state of the road did contribute to the accidents.
“Doyles Road is a very busy and dangerous road with a history of serious accidents and deaths and the potential is still there for another serious accident.
“VicRoads recently acknowledged that heavy traffic on the road is increasing.
“The Minister told me that any proposals for safety improvements will be prioritised on a statewide basis with priority given to locations with a high number of crashes or along sections of road with high crash rates.”
Mrs Powell said this isn’t good enough as the residents were promised it would be widened when the road was made a bypass, but nothing has happened.
“Residents are angry and frustrated at the lack of action by the state government and this is shown by the number of people signing the petition.
“The evidence and resident’s experiences tell us that Doyles Road is a very dangerous road and needs to be improved.
“I will continue to lobby the Minister to fund an upgrade which will widen Doyles Road and improve safety at all its intersections,” Mrs Powell said.

Member for Shepparton, Jeanette Powell, has received a response from the Minister for Roads and Ports regarding her call for the government to upgrade Doyles Road to improve its safety.
Mrs Powell raised the issue in Parliament with the Minister in June after she had been contacted by local residents concerned about safety issues on this very busy road.
“The Minister advised me that VicRoads will investigate the causes of crashes along Doyles Road to determine whether there are road-related factors that could be fixed by safety improvement works.
“He also told me that any proposals for safety improvements will be prioritised on a statewide basis with priority given to locations with a high number of crashes or along sections of road with high crash rates.
“The evidence is already available for the State government to take into account that the state of the road contributed to accidents.
“VicRoads is aware that Doyles Road is a very busy and dangerous road with a history of serious accidents and recently acknowledged that heavy traffic increasing, with 40% of the traffic being large commercial vehicles.
“There have been a number of deaths on Doyles Road and the potential is still there for another serious accident.”
“The residents are angry and frustrated at the lack of action by the state government as they were promised it would be widened when the road was made a bypass, but nothing has happened.”
Mrs Powell said the Minister for Roads statement that any proposals for safety improvements will be prioritised on a statewide basis is the same approach he took over an upgrade of Benalla Road.
“Persistence paid off then, as the government recently announced it will fund the upgrade of Benalla Road,” Mrs Powell said.
“The evidence and resident’s experiences tell us that Doyles Road is a very dangerous road and needs to be improved.
“I will continue to lobby the Minister to fund an upgrade which will widen Doyles Road and improve safety at all its intersections,” Mrs Powell said.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, State Member for Shepparton, Jeanette Powell called on the Premier to provide funding to establish lighting for the full length of the Peter Ross Edwards Causeway.
Mrs Powell raised the matter with the Premier following the horrific accident two weeks ago involving three cars which closed the causeway until the next morning, causing huge disruptions to traffic.
“Six people were injured; one woman and four children in one car, and the driver of another car,” Mrs Powell said.
“Tragically, four year old Jason Hanley died of his injuries the next day, and I would like to pass on my sympathy to Jason’s family and friends.
“I would also like to congratulate the people who assisted at the accident as well as our wonderful emergency services and congratulate Lisa Cardillo, who looked after three of the children until the ambulance arrived.
“Lisa also contacted Neil Mitchell’s radio program to tell him about the accident and the dangerous condition of the road. Neil Mitchell said he would tell the Premier, who was on the show later.
“When told of the accident, the Premier responded by saying: “Obviously it’s a tragic terrible accident that’s occurred and if we can do something with the lighting we will.”
“I urged the Premier in Parliament to honour that commitment.”
Mrs Powell said the Peter Ross Edwards Causeway is very dangerous at any time, given the mix of large vehicles and smaller vehicles and narrow lanes and this accident again highlights the need for lighting and road separation.
“In 2000 I called on the government to undertake a safety audit after there was a spate of accidents on the causeway. That was completed in 2001, and it found the road did not even meet VicRoads’ minimum safety standards,” Mrs Powell said.
“In 2003 I presented petitions containing 6500 signatures calling for an upgrade to this dangerous road.
“After years of lobbying the State Government the funding was finally allocated in 2004.
“Sadly, the second cheapest option was chosen, and unfortunately the request for lighting the full length of the causeway was rejected.
“Without the lighting on this causeway emergency crews are put at huge risk, as are people whose vehicles break down at night on this dangerous road.
“People who travel the road have told me how vulnerable they feel, particularly because of the mix of traffic with B doubles, ambulances, school buses, family cars and people on motorbikes.
“This road which has higher than normal commercial vehicles needs to be made safer for the people travelling along it.
“I will continue to raise this issue with the government and will write to the Minister for Roads urging him to review the safety of the causeway and honour the Premier’s commitment,” Mrs Powell said.

State Member for Shepparton Jeanette Powell said today the recent accident on the Peter Ross-Edwards causeway shows there are still serious safety concerns.
“Sadly there has now been another death on this very busy road.”
“The causeway plays a vital part in the life of the greater Shepparton community,” Mrs Powell said.
“A safety audit I called for in 2001 after a spate of serious accidents showed the causeway did not even meet VicRoads minimum safety standards.
“After years of lobbying the State Government I welcomed the funding which was finally allocated in 2004.
“A number of options were prepared including lighting the full length of the causeway, a raised median strip to separate the traffic and other safety precautions.
“Unfortunately the government chose the cheapest option.
“The causeway is very dangerous at any time, given the mix of large vehicles and smaller vehicles and narrow lanes and last week’s accident again highlights the need for lighting and road separation.
“The fact that the causeway was closed to traffic for many hours also highlights the need for a second river crossing.
“I will raise this issue with the Minister for Roads, Tim Pallas in Parliament next week and urge him to upgrade the street lighting on the causeway as a matter of urgency,” Mrs Powell said.

State Member for Shepparton Jeanette Powell was pleased to read the report that plans are being finalised by VicRoads to upgrade Benalla Rd, although funding has not yet been allocated by the Brumby government.
Mrs Powell has been calling on the Labor government and urging VicRoads for years to upgrade the dangerous section of Benalla Road between Florence St and the Doyles Rd roundabout.
“I initially raised the issue with the Minister for Roads in Parliament and wrote to him in 2006,” Mrs Powell said.
“I met with the Greater Shepparton City Council over the need for urgent works to be carried out and was shown VicRoads plans at the time for the duplication of this section of the road.
“I raised the need for funding again in 2008 because of concerns of business owners and road users that the road was becoming busier and more congested.
“The Minister advised me that any proposal would only be considered and prioritised on a state wide basis.
“I have lobbied hard over the last four years for the State Government to make sure this dangerous stretch of road is considered a priority and funded to ensure the safety of all motorists who use it.
“Recently there have been complaints to me about accidents and near misses because the entrances and exits to businesses are confusing.”
Mrs Powell said the rapid development of businesses on Benalla Road has meant the road is becoming even more dangerous.
“On leaving many businesses, drivers are directed to the Doyles Road roundabout which has a heavy mix of traffic, including B-doubles, caravans, bikes and cars,” Mrs Powell said.
“While the Minister has refused to prioritise this section of road for years it now appears ‘convenient’ that the funding may be provided just before the November election.
“After years of refusal by the Labor government, I hope funding may finally be provided for the urgently needed duplication of the eastern end of Benalla Road,” Mrs Powell said.

Speaking in Parliament this week, Nationals Member for Shepparton, Jeanette Powell raised serious safety concerns about Doyles Road, Shepparton with the Minister for Roads and Ports.
Mrs Powell called on the Minister to widen and upgrade Doyles Road and increase safety at all its intersections.
“I have received complaints about the intersections with Benalla Road, Knights Road, Ford and Grahamvale Roads, Channel Road and Poplar Avenue,” Mrs Powell said.
“Last week I met with the Doyles Road Action Group spokespersons, Peter Beaumont and George Bitcon, who told me they were concerned that the road was becoming more dangerous,” Mrs Powell said.
“I also received letters from 13 residents and regular Doyles Road users detailing near misses, tailgating by trucks, problems entering and leaving their properties and vehicles speeding.
“Drivers have to wait in the middle of the road and hope they do not get hit.
“When the road was made as a bypass of Shepparton the locals were promised that the road would be widened but nothing has happened.
“In the meantime it has developed from a local road into an interstate bypass involving Melbourne to Brisbane freight traffic with minimal improvements.”
Mrs Powell said she first raised the issue of the danger on Doyles Road in 2003 with the Minister after a spate of accidents, including a death.
“Seven years later, residents are angry and frustrated at the lack of action by the Labor government to increase safety by widening and upgrading Doyles Road,” Mrs Powell said.
“In 2006 the Greater Shepparton 2030 report on infrastructure stated about 6000 vehicles per day travelled on Doyles Road with 40% of them commercial vehicles and this week VicRoads acknowledged that heavy traffic is increasing on the road.
“Residents are rightly concerned about safety as large vehicles thunder down a narrow road which has deep, open table drains on either side.
“They told me of near misses as many drivers ignore the 80 kilometres per hour limit.
“There is potential for another serious accident on Doyles Road and that is why I have called on the Minister to widen and upgrade this dangerous road and improve safety at all its intersections.
“Sadly there have been a number of deaths already on this road, and Doyles Road must now be upgraded to avoid more accidents,” Mrs Powell said.

The Nationals Member for Shepparton, Jeanette Powell has urged the Brumby government to show support for small businesses in country Victoria that are doing it tough.
Speaking in Parliament recently Mrs Powell drew Minister for Public Transport, Martin Pakula’s attention to inaction by VicRoads regarding an illegal roadside seller.
“Malcolm and Dianne Blake, proprietors of Blake’s Florist in Shepparton contacted me greatly concerned about inaction by VicRoads over an illegal roadside vendor selling flowers on the Mother’s Day weekend,” Mrs Powell said.
“On Saturday, 8 May, Mr Blake reported a person selling flowers in a roadside stop on the Goulburn Valley Highway at Kialla, south of Shepparton.
“This roadside seller again set up his flower stall with signs on Sunday, 9 May, which was Mothers Day.
“Mr Blake again phoned the VicRoads call centre and spoke to the same operator he spoke to on the previous day and was told the call had been logged, but the operator could not do any more than that.”
Mrs Powell said this wasn’t good enough, as business owners like the Blakes rely on peak periods, such as Mothers Day, for increased income to offset the higher rates of pay made to staff for weekend work.

“This opportunity was taken from them by an opportunistic seller who was not putting back in to our community by paying rates, rent or wages,” Mrs Powell said.

“This has impacted greatly on the Blake’s business as they sold far fewer flowers than last year and, as flowers are perishable items, their loss cannot be made up.
“They are also seeking compensation for the loss of sales due to VicRoads inaction.
“I have urged the minister to respond to Mr Blake's request and investigate why this complaint was not acted upon and the seller prosecuted by VicRoads,” Mrs Powell said.