Two Labor Ministers have been accused of misleading East Gippslanders after trying to pretend they had provided new funding to construct a roundabout on the Princes Highway in Bairnsdale.
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said State Roads Minister Melissa Horne and Federal Transport Minister Catherine King were claiming credit for $9.7 million to deliver the McEacharn St roundabout when the project was actually funded in April 2020.
“They are so arrogant and think we are too stupid to remember the money has already been announced. We need less spin and more action from these two Ministers,” Mr Chester said.
“The roundabout was fully funded in 2020 under the previous Coalition Government, and we have waited four years because this incompetent State Government hasn’t started work.
“It’s taken more than four years, and all they have built is a sign, which was then taken down and replaced a few months later with a new sign, announcing the same project.
“The entire project was funded 100 per cent by the previous Coalition Government because we couldn’t get the Andrews-Allan Government interested in road safety in East Gippsland, and we have all been waiting four years for the work to actually start.”
In announcing the supposedly new funding last week, Minister King said: “The Albanese Government is investing in Bairnsdale’s roads so that both locals and tourists spending time in this beautiful part of the world can get around safely and efficiently. We are working with the Victorian government on these vital improvements that will support Gippsland’s growth.”
Mr Chester said the Minister was being ‘loose with the truth’ and the Albanese Government hadn’t funded a single major transport project in Gippsland since it was elected in 2022.
“If you see a grader or bulldozer working on any major project in Gippsland today, I can assure you the current government had nothing to do with it,” Mr Chester said.
“All of the projects, including the Princes Highway duplication between Traralgon and Sale, were fully funded under the Coalition, and we’re still waiting for this incompetent Minister to build a single transport or regional development project anywhere in Gippsland.”
