NXT calls on Feds to fund their share of Victor Harbor Road upgrade

Posted February 15, 2018

Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie has called on the Federal Government to contribute its fair share to the long-overdue duplication of the dangerous Victor Harbor Road.

The NXT MP raised the issue during Question Time yesterday, telling Federal Parliament that the road serviced one of the largest urban areas in South Australia but it was one of the most dangerous in the State.

“Regardless of which Party forms Government at the next South Australian State Election, will the Federal Government commit to contribute towards funding the much-needed upgrade of Victor Harbor Road?” Rebekha asked.

“The Victor Harbor – Goolwa region is the third largest Significant Urban Area in SA with its population increasing by seven per cent in the 2016 census.

“The Victor Harbor Road has one of the highest rates of vehicle crashes and is in urgent need of an upgrade to double-lanes.”

South Australia’s peak motoring body, the RAA, recently listed the road as the most dangerous in the State, flagging a $600 million upgrade as a key SA Election issue.

SA-BEST has since made an election commitment to co-fund the project, backing up the advocacy efforts of Rebekha who been lobbying for the duplication of the Victor Harbor Road since being elected in 2016.

“As I’ve mentioned before in Federal Parliament and in letters and meetings with State and Federal Ministers, if this road was in the eastern states, it would have been made a dual lane highway decades ago,” Rebekha said.

“The RAA indicates that between 2012 and 2016, there has been a 34 per cent increase in traffic on this 48km stretch of road, and that during that same period, 43 people were killed or seriously injured.

“That’s close to one person killed or seriously injured for every kilometre of Victor Harbor Road every year.

“The population in the Victor Harbor – Goolwa region jumped by seven per cent in the 2016 census and Victor Harbor and these coastal towns are incredibly popular tourist destinations for Adelaide people so the traffic on this road increases astronomically in peak times.

“I welcome the response from the Infrastructure and Transport Minister Barnaby Joyce that he would take my question on notice but my community needs the Government to make a firm commitment to fund the work that needs to be done.

“This cannot be kicked down the road any longer.”

The road runs through the SA electorate of Finniss, with the local SA-BEST Candidate Joe Hill saying the upgrade is one of his key campaign priorities.

"The Victor Harbor Road is the most talked-about road in South Australia. We've seen plenty of promises but, up until now, no action,” Joe said.

"SA-BEST is proud to be backing the RAA's call to have the Victor Harbor Road duplicated from Main South Road to Mount Compass and widened from Mount Compass to Victor Harbor.

“This upgrade will save lives and help unlock the tourism potential of the South Coast."