Candidates across the by-election spectrum are highlighting the poor state of south-west roads but none are putting money where their mouths are, Chris O’Connor says.
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In an impassioned plea last week, the Corangamite Shire mayor called on South West Coast and Polwarth by-election candidates to secure funding for the Princes Highway.
The 19 contenders across both electorates are only offering advocacy rather than dollars, Cr O’Connor says, and he says the parties need to make cash commitments soon. “It’s easy to say ‘we support this, we support that’,” he said. “We need concrete dollar figures assigned to specific road projects to be taken seriously.”
Polwarth National Party candidate David O’Brien will host a roads forum in Simpson on Thursday night. He identified Foxhow and Ayresford roads as priority projects to advocate to the state government.
Polwarth Liberal Party candidate Richard Riordan officially opened his campaign office on Tuesday night. He said restoring the Country Roads and Bridges funding program was top of his campaign priority list.
In the South West Coast electorate, Country Party candidate Jim Doukas said the Labor government would be reluctant to apportion any funding to the seat if a Coalition candidate won.
Liberal Party candidate Roma Britnell identified the Woolsthorpe-Heywood and Macarthur-Myamyn on her advocacy target list, among others.
Independent candidate Roy Reekie argued his connections to the state government would give him the advocacy edge in securing funds for the Princes Highway, among other roads.
