Federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry said the Albanese Government should immediately abandon its plan to lower regional speed limits to 70 kilometres per hour on both sealed and unsealed roads.
“Capricornia communities are completely opposed to the Labor Government in Canberra telling them speed limits must be slashed to as low as 70 kilometres per hour on regional roads,” Ms Landry said.
“Labor’s consultation on lowering regional road speed limits closed on Monday, and the Government must listen to the feedback from people in the regions by immediately scrapping the plan.
“Country people want the Government to invest in fixing our roads — not letting them deteriorate and then forcing councils and state governments to slash the speed limits.”
Ms Landry said the Albanese Government has cancelled, cut, and delayed more than $30 billion worth of infrastructure projects since it was elected three years ago.
“The Prime Minister has targeted regional roads for spending cuts, reducing funding from 80 per cent under the Coalition down to 50 per cent for road upgrade projects in the regions.
“Coalition programs designed to return a fair share of the Federal Budget to the regions and make roads safer and more productive have been abolished by Labor, including the Roads of National Significance and Bridges Renewal programs,” Ms Landry said.
Labor members and senators are buckling under pressure from regional Nationals and Liberal MPs who have been campaigning against Labor’s lower speed limits plan.
Western Australian Labor Senator Glenn Sterle told ABC Radio last Friday:
“Absolutely no way do I support this. It is a nonsense.”
“It is just a nonsense that we would even entertain or put up something like this.”
“If the Government doesn’t want to listen to regional communities, it should take the advice of this senator by walking away from the plan and make a clear statement that it will not be forcing cuts to speed limits on communities,” Ms Landry said.
“Labor needs to learn that the answer to improving roads is investing in them — instead of slowing the regions down. We need to call this for what it really is: Labor defunding the regions in the name of safety.”
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