Independent candidate for Nicholls Rob Priestly has called for the Federal Government to begin building the Shepparton bypass.
Mr Priestly said the time for talk had well passed, and did not want the Greater Shepparton community “to be having the same conversation ahead of the 2025 election”.
“Let’s cut out the excuses and get it done,” he said.
“It’s time to stop the political game playing on this issue. The bypass has been discussed since the 90s and was promised when John Howard was prime minister.
“Shepparton is now the largest regional centre in Victoria with thousands of trucks a day running through the CBD.
“The Federal Government has been sitting on the Victorian Government business case and has refused to release it to the community. Why the smoke and mirrors? It’s time to get on with collaborating across different levels of government and getting it done.”
Mr Priestly expressed concerns that a federal election campaign would spur more blame-shifting from the government, but not a bypass.
“Under the microscope of an election campaign, I’m worried that the Federal Government will come out with all sorts of excuses about why the project isn’t moving forward, blame the state government, or call for more costings,” he said.
“We need something better than that. The Federal Government is responsible for 80 per cent of the cost, so they need to commit to a time-frame for delivering the project. It’s time for them to put politics aside and reach an agreement with Victoria on the construction of this project.”