As a major highway linking the Coast with Canberra, we all know how vital Brown Mountain is for our community.
I drive up and down Brown Mountain several times a week and, like you, know how frustrating the continual landslips, rockfalls and delays are.
These issues aren’t new – we’ve been tackling closures for decades.
The Highway is state government-owned, and the Federal Government has been partnering with the Minns Government to repair the damaged road.
Two landslip sites were recently completed, with almost 150 soil nails installed – each up to 11 metres long – into the damaged slope and under the road, and more than 700 metres squared of mesh and sprayed concrete to secure the area and prevent further erosion. Work is planned on a further two landslip sites, which are due to be completed by the end of this year.
Dollars talk when it comes to road repairs – more than $7.09 million has been spent in disaster recovery funding for Brown Mountain repairs by the Labor NSW state and Labor federal governments since we came to government.
This is significantly more than the $4.06 million spent by the Liberal NSW state and Liberal federal governments between 2015 and 2022.
The fact is, we’re getting on with delivering these important upgrades, not just whinging about it.
Improving road safety is a priority of the Albanese Government – we have doubled Roads to Recovery funding, which has seen local governments in Eden-Monaro receive a funding boost of more than $26.3 million. This takes the program’s funding to more than $63 million dollars over the next five years for our region.
We’ve increased the Road Black Spot Program, rising from $110 million to $150 million, meaning more money for improving some of the most dangerous sections of our roads.
The new Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program has $200 million available per year, $50 million more than was available for the two programs it replaced.
We have also committed to improving data collection, providing $21.2 million to the National Road Safety Data Hub, and providing $10.8 million for a National Road Safety and awareness campaign.
There is no doubt that we need a long-term solution for the Snowy Mountains Highway, which is something I have been advocating for in my time as Mayor of the Bega Valley and as the Member for Eden-Monaro.
But your voice is important too. The Strategic Regional Integrated Transport Plan (SRITP) for South East and Tablelands is currently seeking community feedback.
The plan will provide a 20-year vision of the key transport priorities for our region. You can have your say at https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/sritp/south-east-and-tablelands
I will continue to work with the community to deliver the services and infrastructure our community needs – including a safe Brown Mountain.
It’s critical for our safety, economy and way of life that the road is made more reliable and I’m getting on with the job of delivering it.
