Council Calls for Urgent Action on State Managed Roads

Published on 08 October 2025

An open letter has been circulated by Mansfield Shire Council, after it called on the Victorian Government to urgently address the deteriorating condition of roads within the Shire, writing several letters over a period of months with no response.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said that Council’s letters to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, remain unanswered by the Minister.

“We have been repeatedly lobbying the state government to improve the condition of our roads,” said Cr Rabie.

“The system really is not working for our community. We are hearing from our community that every day, they are dodging potholes that are enough to do serious damage to the rim of a car.

“Others are telling us about their near misses when seeing drivers swerve to avoid the potholes. The hazards created by the poor condition of the roads are resulting in dangerous driving behaviours that present a serious risk to both drivers and pedestrians,” he said.

“We received an email from the local executive at the Department of Transport and Planning the other day that we understand to be a response to our calls for better roads. Would you believe that in the generic response that we received about improvements to roads in our region, not one of the roads listed was even in our Shire?

“We are not being heard and our community’s concerns continue to be ignored. I encourage you to write to the Minister for Roads, write to all local state members, write to the Department of Transport and Planning - tell them all about your concerns. Our community deserves better.

“Community safety is our priority. Council is doing its part to maintain our local roads, but we need the State Government to listen, respond and take responsibility for the roads under its care. The silence from the Department is not only disappointing, its disrespectful to our community”.

Council is urging the Department of Transport to review its current road maintenance model, which is failing to address defects in a timely manner. The current approach allows road conditions to deteriorate to the point where they encourage unsafe driving and compromise public safety.

Council requested a response from the Minister by Friday 26 September 2025, outlining the actions proposed to improve the road network in Mansfield Shire. As no response has been received, Council is now publicly reaffirming its commitment to advocating for safer roads on behalf of the community and will continue to escalate its concerns until action is taken.

Open-Letter-to-Minister-Horne.pdf(PDF, 262KB)