The Victorian government has ordered a review into the state’s pothole compensation scheme after the Herald Sun revealed it was rejecting virtually all claims.
New Roads Minister Paul Hamer on Wednesday said he had ordered a review into the scheme, but stopped short of promising any changes.
“The Carroll Labor government is going to be looking into this legislation, and I’ve asked the department to look into this legislation to see if it remains fit for purpose in the current conditions,” he said.
The review follows the Herald Sun exposing that less than 2 per cent of motorists seeking compensation for damage caused by potholes are receiving payouts.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information show drivers are facing virtually impossible odds when seeking repair work payouts for damages caused by the state’s broken road network, with 98 per cent of people turned away.
A total of 1786 of the 1809 compensation claims were rejected by the Department of Transport in the past two financial years, with the state’s roads authority covering repair costs for just 23 drivers.
Asked if the compensation threshold would be lifted, Mr Hamer would not commit to any changes before the review was finished.
“That is exactly why I have asked the department to look into the compensation scheme and look into the legislation to see if any of it needs to be changed,” he said.
But Mr Hamer conceded the state of Victoria’s roads were unacceptable.
“We need to improve the state of our roads … I drive on the roads a lot, and I always have a lookout for the conditions of our roads,” he said.
“That is why my firm focus and my priority in the first week that I’ve been the minister is to make sure that every dollar of our $1.04bn in the road maintenance program for 26-27 is spent appropriately.
“As the Premier did say, I am a civil engineer, and I’ve worked in the sector and industry for a long time.”
Tom Humphries — the Stonnington councillor who was the first to get his hands on the secret government data before releasing it to the Herald Sun — called the review “a drop in the ocean”.
“Motorists don’t want a better claims form. They want a road that doesn’t destroy their cars in the first place,” he said.
“Not one dollar of new money was announced today — the roads are exactly as broken tonight as they were this morning.”
“Reviewing the scheme without funding the repairs just means Victorians will be knocked back more politely.”
Mr Humphries called on Mr Hamer to publish the terms of the proposed review, including who it would be conducted by and which dates it would include.
“If it reports after the November election, Victorians will draw their own conclusions,” he said.
“We’ll judge this on one test — our roads finally being flat again. Everything else is words.”