More than 430 readers have put their views forward on a range of economic, social, health and environmental issues and their thoughts have been collated ahead of the upcoming state election.

The survey revealed roads are an ongoing concern. It comes after two B-double trucks rolled in the region in inclement weather on Thursday, renewing calls for the region’s roads to be made safer.

Across the state 64 per cent of respondents said roads were unsafe, however in South West Coast, that figure took a massive jump to almost 93 per cent, showing frustration over the region’s declining thoroughfares.

Health, jobs creation and education also rated as key issues to residents.

Respondents strongly agreed more cash was needed for public hospitals to deliver the right level of care.

This recognition comes as the campaign to secure funding for stage two of the Warrnambool Base Hospital continues. 

People also overwhelmingly agreed health professionals should be provided with greater incentives to work in the region.

Nearly 95 per cent of respondents said regional development was “important or very important” and 332 people said government departments and staff should be relocated from metropolitan areas to the region.

People also agreed private businesses should be provided with defined financial incentives to establish in the region, and more public housing should be built in the community to deal with homelessness.

The majority of people said public schools should receive more funding, while private schools should get less. Residents overwhelmingly agreed employers in the community should receive financial incentives to recruit and retain local secondary school leavers, and regional and rural students should receive more financial support to attend university or vocational education. 

More than 80 per cent of people rated the environment as important or very important.

The majority of people agreed a list of people on the sexual offenders register should be published online.

The survey asked people if refugees and asylum seekers should be provided with reduced-cost rent to move to the region to help solve worker and skill shortages.

That idea did not receive support with the majority of people voting against the proposal.

Survey responders from the South West Coast electorate also had the opportunity to submit their own comments. 

A desire for improved train infrastructure and performance were widely voiced, as well as the need for upgrades to the Warrnambool library and harbour.

Political candidates for the South West Coast have aligned themselves with public sentiments collected by The Standard’s election survey. 

Current MP Roma Britnell will run to retain the seat for the Liberal Party while Kylie Gaston will run for the Labor Party.

Member for Western Victoria James Purcell has not indicated if he will run in the lower or upper house yet at the November 24 election.

The three candidates did not see responses to the public survey before they completed their own answers. 

All agreed south-west roads were unsafe, public hospitals did not receive enough funding and regional and rural students should receive more financial support to attend university or vocational education.

To the question ‘refugees and asylum seekers should be provided with reduced-cost rent to move to my community to help solve worker and skill shortages’ Mrs Britnell and Ms Gaston said yes, while Mr Purcell said no.

“This should not just be limited to refugees or asylum seekers or just providing reduced cost rents,” Mrs Britnell said.

“A suite of incentives should be provided to anyone to encourage people to move to regional Victoria for work.” 

Ms Gaston said she absolutely welcomed new members to the community, which encouraged population growth and economic development.

Ms Gaston and Mrs Britnell agreed councils should be forced to spend two-thirds of income on programs and facilities that directly benefited ratepayers while Mr Purcell voted against it.

“While this idea sounds great in theory, it’s simply not in reality,” he said.

“Forcing an expenditure structure on a council will inevitably lead to issues that restrict the councils ability to fund major and significant projects and also compromise their ability to be flexible to distribute funds according to needs and demand.” 

All candidates agreed facilities for female athletes in the community were inadequate.

In contrast, the public survey was split nearly 50/50 on the issue. 

Mr Purcell was the only candidate who said there was ‘sufficient support and recognition for indigenous people and people of other cultures in my community’ with Mrs Britnell and Ms Gaston saying there was not. 

“I feel we have a vibrant, gracious indigenous community with some very wise elders who are helping us a lot,” Ms Gaston said.

“An example of this is the Koori language program going into our kindergartens which will pave the way for future generations.” 

All candidates said young offenders who committed serious offences should not be jailed in adult prisons.

Roads campaigner Tash Frainkensteiner is leading the charge to upgrade busted and pot-hole riddled regional and country roads.

Six years ago she started documenting disgraceful roads around the south-west through the Fix Our Rural Roads Facebook page.

“The issue has been ongoing since then,” she said.

“I got fed up with getting rock chips in my windscreen and replacing them. I had to replace my windscreen up to twice a month.

“I was living in the Caramut district at that time. It’s not cheap. It's $250 to replace a windscreen. 

“At the time I couldn't afford to have the actual insurance to replace it.”

Ms Frankensteiner said she was campaigning for the roads to be fixed and authorities to be held accountable for their poor condition.

“I want to see them properly maintained with less money spent on city roads and more on country roads to bring them up to proper safety standards,” she said.

“We pay taxes and we have to drive on these roads to get to and from work.

“If WorkSafe investigated them, it could declare them unsafe.”

Ms Frankensteiner said the amount of money spent on rural and regional roads was “basically just lunch money”.

“Nothing is getting done and it's just spent on Band-aid fixes that don’t hold up,” she said.

“They put signs up pointing out the obvious rough surfaces and when they do try to fix the roads the fixes aren’t holding up. They only last two months.”

She said politicians needed to carry through on their promises.

“Anyone can put their hand up and say it but I want to see action,” she said.

“You can say whatever during an election but we need follow through. 

“Politicians might start getting the respect of people in the country if they did what they said they were going to do.” 

Regional Victorians from across the central and western parts of the state have sent a clear message to Spring Street ahead of November’s election: don’t leave the bush behind. 

Through a groundbreaking survey conducted by Fairfax Media, almost 3000 regional Victorians laid out what will be most important to them when they head to the polls on November 24.

The survey revealed ensuring health, education and transport spending was on par with metropolitan Melbourne was of most importance to regional voters, along with a strong desire to see more emphasis placed on jobs creation. 

Read on to see how people across the state feel about issues including education, roads, jobs and more.

With Melbourne leading the nation in economic and population growth, regional Victorians have made clear their desire to get in on the action. 

In questions relating to economic development and jobs creation, those surveyed were emphatic in their desire for a better deal in the regions. 

Respondents gave a resounding endorsement for the decentralisation of public sector offices, with 73.27 per cent agreeing with the statement ‘government departments and staff should be relocated from metropolitan areas to my community’.

The poll also showed a clear concern around the regions’ best and brightest leaving home in search of superior employment opportunities. 

More than 74 per cent of respondents agreed ‘private businesses should be provided with defined financial incentives to establish in my community’.

More than 81 percent of those polled said ‘employers in my community should receive financial incentives to recruit and retain local secondary school leavers’.

Particularly pertinent for university towns such as Warrnambool, Bendigo and Ballarat was the whopping 86 per cent who agreed ‘regional and rural students should receive more financial support to attend university or vocational education’.

With both parties eager to spruik their infrastructure outlook ahead of the November 24 poll, regional Victorians are out to ensure the spend is not limited to the metropolitan border. 

Voters from central and western Victoria have made it clear they believe appropriate spending in the regions can help to attract a greater slice of the city’s population growth, turning a metropolitan problem into a country opportunity. 

More than 67 per cent of voters surveyed disagreed with the claim ‘the roads in my community are safe and in good condition’, while 64.19 per cent disagreed to the statement ‘enough is being done to ensure the central business district of my community is a safe and attractive place to visit’. 

Debate around energy infrastructure could also be important in winning the hearts and minds of regional voters come November, with 73.1 per cent of those polls agreeing ‘more green energy projects, such as wind farms and solar farms, should be supported in my community’.  

When asked to rank a series of topics on priority between not important and very important, more than 92 per cent of respondents listed regional development as important or very important.  

Across the survey which ran over three weeks, regional Victorians highlighted their concerns about the difference in service delivery and outcomes between Melbourne and the rest of the state.  

On the sliding scale of importance, health was by far the highest priority for respondents, with 98.58 per cent of people ranking the subject important or very important.   

More than 70 per cent of those polled believed public hospitals in their region didn’t receive adequate funding to deliver the right level of care, while a whopping 80.7 per cent agreed ‘health professionals be provided with greater incentives to work in my community’. 

Similarly, education evoked a 94.75 per cent important or very important response from those surveyed, highlighting a clear priority in regional interests.  More than 67 per cent of people believed public schools in their area needed a funding boost to help achieve better results. 

The evergreen election issue of crime again looks set to be a feature in the bid to win regional votes, with almost 92 per cent of respondents calling the matter important or very important.   

Meanwhile a host of social issues including community housing and the impact of poker machines on problem gambling were also identified as key battlegrounds as regional Victorians prepare to cast their ballot.