COUNTRY people had been slapped down with the Federal Government’s $3.3 billion cash injection for Victoria broad and transport infrastructure projects, said Brett Hosking.
The Victorian Farmers’ Federation president said last week’s announcement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had given nothing to country Victoria.
“It’s a genuine slap in the face for those living outside of Melbourne. Both the Commonwealth and Victorian governments are proving they have no interest in taking action to fix roads outside of marginal electorates,” he said.
“This funding announcement was billed as ‘Victoria’s fair share.’ It should be rebranded as ‘Melbourne’s fair share’, as there is little to smile about from a regional Victorian’s perspective.
“Country roads are crumbling and it’s not only costing tens of millions in lost productivity, tragically people are paying for it with their lives.
“Just recently I called on decision makers to urgently increase funding into our regional roads in the wake of a soaring regional road toll. That’s clearly fallen on deaf ears and to be honest it’s a disgrace,” Mr Hosking said.
He said that for more than a decade, regional Victoria had been neglected and “we won’t accept it any longer. It’s not a matter of crying poor, just a matter of fairness and we’re clearly getting the rough end of the stick”.
“Regional Victoria’s population is roughly on par with a city the size of Adelaide and we are Australia’s agriculture economic powerhouse. We can’t grow without investment and we’re not getting it. 
“We’ll be asking for an urgent please explain from both levels of government regarding this announcement,”
Mr Hosking’s push for more rural road funding backs calls from councils across Victoria for a greater share of money to fix roads. 
The state of Loddon Shire roads has been marked down heavily by residents in annual satisfaction surveys over the past three years.