Rural Councils Victoria is calling for a dedicated rural "Build Back Better" fund in the wake of the ongoing floods crisis across the state.
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Rural Councils Victoria chair Cr Mary-Ann Brown said she wanted an incoming government to set ip a "betterment fund" to ensure that roads and other assets were repaired or replaced to a standard that could withstand future natural disasters.
"The dedicated betterment fund will help ensure that 'Build Back Better' is more than just an empty slogan" Cr Brown said.
"Rural councils across the state - many of which have borne the brunt of the floods - are still assessing the damage, but repairs to the required standard are likely to total billions of dollars.
"Each rural council is responsible for thousands of kilometres of local roads but don't have the rate base to be able to afford adequate road repairs, even in normal times."
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She said Victoria's food producers, manufacturers, transport operators and residents needed a dedicated fund to ensure that roads were constructed, repaired or reconstructed to a standard that could withstand frequent natural disasters.
"This means genuine long-term thinking," Cr Brown said.
"Investing more up front can lower, and in some cases eliminate, repair costs following future natural disasters.
"Poor and damaged rural roads costs everyone in the state."
They slowed down and damaged farm and transport vehicles, pushing up the cost of labour and repairs, all of which was paid for with higher prices for food and other items at the supermarket and elsewhere.
"Road users in rural Victoria are over four times more likely to die on our roads than those in Melbourne," she said.
"With flooding continuing to wash away and damage roads, it is time that a Victoria-wide roads emergency is declared."
The investment in urgent repairs and the betterment fund were additional to the road funding asks in RCV's State Election Platform - launched before the floods - which called for:
The reinstatement of the Fixing Country Roads program ($200 million over four years)
An additional $200 million per year over four years for Regional Roads Victoria for upgrade and maintenance program for the RRV network across rural Victoria, and
$10 million per year over four years for roadside vegetation management and weed control on arterial roads.
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