However, the government has gone on the offensive and blamed the previous government for the dire state of the roads and said Labor had invested $750 million in local roads as part of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program.
Mr Chester has taken aim at Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Catherine King over what he believes is a failure to deliver safety projects and funding.
In a scathing attack, he has described Ms King as a disappointment to local councils, which rely heavily on Federal Government grants to help fund major projects.
“If you see a grader, a bulldozer, or a crane at work on a major public project anywhere in Australia today, you can be sure of one thing: the current federal minister had absolutely nothing to do with providing the funding,” Mr Chester said.
Mr Chester said Ms King preferred announcing a 90-day review of the Infrastructure Investment Program while communities waited to see if local road projects would ever get funding.
“Nothing is getting cheaper by waiting, and when the minister finally makes some decisions, there’s no doubt that local council community projects will need to be re-scoped, and less road safety initiatives will be undertaken,” he said.
“So we are in limbo as Australia experiences a spike in road trauma, and motorists endure pot-holed roads, while the responsible federal minister ponders her review.”
A government spokesperson, however, has blamed the previous government.
“The Coalition Government, of which Mr Chester was a part, including time as infrastructure minister, tripled the number of projects in the Infrastructure Investment Program between 2015 and 2022, adding most before the pandemic,” the spokesperson said.
“There is an estimated $33 billion in known cost pressures across all projects in the program — 41 per cent of the total program budget — and there is a high risk that could increase.
“Because of the mess the Coalition left, the government cannot afford to meet identified cost pressures or add new projects in the next 10 years without significant changes.”
The spokesperson said Ms King was carefully considering the report’s details, and a government response to recommendations would be announced in due course.
“(Ms King) is consulting closely with her state and territory counterparts and federal colleagues to determine how to proceed in a way that best serves the interests of the Australian public and doesn’t contribute to inflation and cost-of-living pressures.”
