Pothole dodgem –

a Perrottet government initiative

Fixing the Central Coast’s broken roads has fallen into the same pothole as every other road in NSW – a tyre tearing, rim bending, money gobbling experience for motorists, with the ‘same old same old’ of excuses from local council and the NSW State Government. Meanwhile, motorists are being treated like it is a privilege for them to be able to drive on third-world roads.

16 December 2022

ALAN HAYES

 

CARS in our society have achieved a sense of pride with car owners and, for many, a status symbol of their position in life. Regardless, cars are a huge investment, second to real estate, and road users expect a better deal than what they’ve been getting from the local council and the state government. An obstacle course of dangerous and yawning potholes in the road is unacceptable.

 

But one may well ask, why do we call the gaping cavities in the road ‘potholes’? Back when road travel consisted of horse-drawn coaches and wagons, and local potters anxious for a cheap source of raw materials for making clay pots, they would dig into the deep ruts to reach clay deposits underneath the road. Teamsters driving wagons and coaches over those roads knew who and what caused these holes and referred to them as “potholes”.

 

History aside, there’s still no excuse to suffer the appalling condition of our roads and the plethora of excuses not to repair them.

 

So, is Central Coast Council, or any other council, in NSW responsible for potholes and can you sue them for vehicle damage for failure to repair the potholes?

 

When dealing with claims, Council has certain protections from liability under the NSW Civil Liability Act 2002. Accordingly, Council may not be liable for damages arising from potholes and other hazards unless Council was aware of the risk and acted negligently by not addressing the issue, which is the nub of the problem on the Central Coast. Council is aware of the potholes, even to the extent that they mark them with a white circle for repair – a date so far away in the future, it’s akin to the distance to far-off galaxies travelled by the ‘Star Wars’ team.

 

And law suits would be problem for Central Coast Council because they self-insure – time to rev-up an enthusiastic lawyer who has an axe to grind with local government.

 

So, what’s the answer? The NRMA’s ‘Fix Our Broken Roads’ report has delved into the problem and made certain recommendations. The report measured the NSW funding backlog and found that it stood at $1.9 billion in 2020-21 including a $1.5 billion backlog in the regions.

 

The report also found that state funding for roads required more attention than ever, given the financial pressures on councils and the worsening state of local roads.

 

The NRMA report also highlighted that the backlog road repair work was more than $46.8 million on the Central Coast for the 12-month period.

 

The dire need identified in the report stands in stark contrast to the NSW Government response so far.

 

In the last round of Budget Estimates, the Government confirmed that no regional roads had been transferred under the Liberals and Nationals 2019 election commitment to reclassify and transfer 15,000 kilometres of roads.

 

Given that recent weather events, which exacerbated the abysmal condition of local roads, it is still inexcusable to continually blame the weather – potholes have been a growing problem with no help at all from the NSW Liberal Government for an extremely long time.

 

Shadow Minister for the Central Coast and Member for Wyong, David Harris said, "It is clear the current NSW Liberals and Nationals have failed when it comes to properly funding local roads in NSW despite their flashy promises.

 

"If Labor is elected in March, the party will shift the government's focus from expensive mega projects, including building new toll roads, and will redouble its efforts reconstructing regional roads."

 

Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch said, “When I am out and about in the community the thing that people talk to me about the most is the poor state of our roads.

 

“Unfortunately the Perrottet Government have done little to address these problems and have instead embarked upon privatising toll roads like NorthConnex, which only adds to out-of-pocket cost of living challenges faced by motorists.

 

“The Albanese Government has committed $40 million for Central Coast roads, this is in stark contrast to the $50 million the Perrottet Government have committed to the whole of New South Wales."

 

Shadow Minister for Roads, John Graham said, "The regional pothole fund for councils is only $50 million, while city councils have been left to fend for themselves.

 

“Maintaining our state’s roads is essential for passenger and freight safety, and to keep NSW moving.”

 

So, how does $50 million stretch into a $1.9 billion backlog? It doesn’t!

 

And while Dominic Perrottet is buttering you up for the March 2023 election, remember the Liberal’s broken promise on regional roads. The government promised to deliver 15,000 kilometres of road from councils to the state government. By the time the election rolls around, not a single kilometre of roads in regional New South Wales will have been transferred out of stretched councils into the state's hands.

 

"The state government had broken a key promise made at the last election to take back control of 15,000 kilometres of council-owned roads" David Harris said.

 

"This is a broken promise that now that reaches every corner of the state, including the Central Coast."

 

Flim flam and snake oil won’t fix the roads and neither will Dominic Perrottet. Yet he still believes that he deserves your vote – as Michael Caton said, playing the fictional character Darryl Kerrigan in The Castle, “he must be dreaming”.

 

Shadow Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison said, “Roads and transport in regional communities are social determinants of health, education, jobs and opportunity. For the government to have a nearly two billion dollar backlog is unforgivable.”

 

“This NRMA report confirms what we all know, that the NSW Government has failed our regional, rural and remote communities on roads.”

 

"A backlog in the bush, whilst they have wasted nearly ten times that amount on failed Sydney transport projects is an absolute disgrace.”

 

“This is just another example of how this tired and lazy 12 year old Liberal National Government continues to neglect our regional and rural communities.”

 

And what about Adam Crouch, the State Member for Terrigal? - roads in his electorate have been severely potholed! The Grapevine sent a request to Mr Crouch yesterday morning and asked, "With the release of the NRMA’s ‘Fix Our Broken Roads’ report can I receive comment from you by this afternoon on what the Perrottet Government intends to do to address the appalling condition of Central Coast roads." Mr Crouch did not give the courtesy of a response - no doubt his constituents would like to know what action he is personally taking to address his government's failure to provide adequate funding to repair the roads. Or does he merely believe that he is entitled to be re elected for remaining mute and not challenging the 'status quo'?

 

Perrottet’s broken road’s promise not only touches the Central Coast, it touches the north, the south and the west of our state, including all of those councils looking for assistance - nothing has been delivered.