‘Completely reckless’: Huge state budget cuts to TAC, despite road toll ‘crisis’

Neil Mitchell is alarmed to see the TAC being “plundered” by the state government as Victoria’s road toll becomes a “state emergency”.

Hundreds of millions of dollars of funding has been cut in the latest budget, despite the road toll being at a 14-year high.

138 people have been killed on Victorian roads this year, 50 more than at the same point in 2018.

“The road toll is becoming a state emergency and I am beginning to fear the government does not see that,” Neil Mitchell said.

“Their policies concern me.”

Among the cuts, there’ll be 400,000 less breath tests this year.

State Opposition leader Michael O’Brien said the cuts were “completely reckless” and being made purely to “prop up” the government’s budget to keep it in surplus.

“Daniel Andrews talks a lot about wanting to make Victoria fair – it’s not a fair place when you’ve got an increased chance of being taken out by a drunk driver because he won’t fund the breath tests,” he said.

“We’re seeing a massive increase in the road toll.

“What does Daniel Andrews think is going to happen when you go backwards on testing for drugs and alcohol?

“This is completely reckless.”

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