South-west mayors welcomed member for Wannon Dan Tehan’s announcement, which was made in Colac on Thursday, but the MP’s suggestion the money was contingent on a State Government equivalent was met with derision from State Government Roads Minister Luke Donnellan.

A spokesperson for Mr Donnellan said the Federal Government should recognise the highway as a road of national importance, which are usually funded with 80 per cent federal funding. 

“At the eleventh hour of an election campaign, the Liberal National Party are only now taking an interest in this road of national importance,” the spokesperson said.

“The Andrews Labor Government will have the interests of rural Victorians in mind when negotiating funding arrangements to ensure Victoria receives its fair share of federal funding.”

Corangamite Shire mayor Jo Beard welcomed Mr Tehan’s announcement but added the shire would continue to lobby for “the highway (to be) recognised as a road of national significance”.

“This status would allow major upgrades to be completed on the road including the 2+1 passing lane option which council has been advocating strongly for,” Cr Beard said.

“It is great to see the Federal Government recognise the importance of this road through the announcement of this funding.”

Glenelg Shire mayor Max Oberlander also welcomed the funding, and said it was “critical the Victorian Government match this funding announcement and previous commitments made to the Henty Highway to ensure our broken freight network can be finally fixed”.

“(This is) one of our key freight roads leading to the Port of Portland (and) this road requires significant pavement improvement to ensure the safety of motorists who are tired of ongoing band-aid treatments,” Cr Oberlander said.