Victoria's Liberal and Nationals Coalition has unveiled a $5 billion road repair and maintenance plan, pledging to eliminate one million potholes and overhaul the state's infrastructure spending if it wins government at the November election. The announcement, made on Monday, positions the condition of Victoria's roads as a central cost-of-living issue for the opposition heading into the poll.

What the Coalition's road repair plan involves

The $5 billion commitment would be spent over four years and is designed to go well beyond simply filling potholes. Under the plan, the Coalition says it would re-establish a proper, planned system of preventative road maintenance — a model it argues has been abandoned under the current government.

Key elements of the policy include:

  • A $5 billion investment in road maintenance and rebuilding over four years
  • The creation of Better Roads Victoria as a standalone division within the Department of Transport and Planning
  • Boosted roadside maintenance, covering grass slashing, graffiti removal and drain clearance
  • A review of construction standards and maintenance contracts

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson framed the announcement as a direct response to what she described as mismanagement of public funds. "While $15 billion has been lost to corruption on the Big Build, our roads are littered with dangerous potholes that are causing untold damage to vehicles — leaving motorists thousands of dollars out of pocket," she said. "Drivers shouldn't be the ones footing the bill for blown tyres, cracked rims and worse because Jacinta Allan and Labor cannot get the basics right."

Regional Victoria at the heart of the commitment

Nationals Leader and Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety Danny O'Brien said the road repair pledge is part of a broader commitment to regional communities through what the Coalition is calling the Fair Share Guarantee. He pointed to what he described as a significant imbalance in how infrastructure dollars are currently distributed across the state.

"Roads have been falling apart all across Victoria and Victorians are fed-up with half-hearted patch-up jobs that quickly fall apart," Mr O'Brien said. He argued that despite making up 25 per cent of the state's population, regional Victoria currently receives less than 12 per cent of infrastructure spending. Under the Coalition's plan, that figure would rise to 25 per cent.

The regional focus comes against a backdrop of ongoing frustration from local communities about the pace of road repairs outside Melbourne. This year's Victorian budget allocated $1 billion to fix the state's roads — with 70 per cent of that earmarked for regional areas — but peak bodies representing rural councils criticised the amount as insufficient. Rural Councils Victoria called for an additional $500,000 per year over four years specifically for road upgrades and resealing. Budget documents also show the area of regional road network expected to be repaired will fall from 95,000 square metres in the previous financial year to 74,000 square metres in 2026-27.

Context: a pothole controversy that made headlines earlier this year

The Coalition's road repair push has not been without awkward moments. Earlier this year, the Liberal candidate for the Nepean by-election, Anthony Marsh, carried out unauthorised roadworks alongside Ms Wilson as part of a campaign stunt. The pair were filmed filling potholes in the Dromana suburb, with the video later posted to social media. The incident drew a formal complaint to the Department of Transport and Planning, raising questions about the safety and integrity of the work performed.

Despite that episode, the opposition has doubled down on road maintenance as a key election battleground, betting that the daily frustration of damaged vehicles and deteriorating local roads will resonate strongly with voters across both metropolitan and regional Victoria ahead of November.