I'd like to thank the member for Wannon, my neighbour, for moving this timely and important motion about the state of roads, particularly in regional Victoria. Can I say how disappointing it is for me personally that so much of my electorate now falls within the electorate of Wannon. From Apollo Bay to Colac and from Forrest to Anglesea, these are some of the most incredible places across the nation, and the member for Wannon is privileged to have these communities in his electorate.

I know that these communities and the local councils that maintain the roads across south-west Victoria suffered a decade of neglect under the former Liberal government. After a decade of Liberal neglect, local councils have now received record funding in the past two years under Labor. We're delivering record increases to local council road infrastructure funding. We are progressively doubling Roads to Recovery funding to $1 billion per year, and we're increasing the Black Spot Program by $50 million per year to $150 million. This means that every single local council in Australia will receive more funding for local road infrastructure and maintenance under Labor—more money than ever before for local councils to spend on fixing potholes, improving our roads and making our thoroughfares safer to drive on, particularly in regional and rural areas. This is groundbreaking, and it stands in stark contrast to the Liberals in action.

The federal coalition will say they funded roads when in government, but the reality is that it was clearly insufficient, and it's taken the Albanese Labor government to bite the bullet and address the shortfall. For example, the Liberals should explain to my communities on the Bellarine in Victoria why they did not provide enough funding to get the Grubb Road upgrade in Ocean Grove off the ground. The former coalition government said they would upgrade it, but, as per usual, it was photo op first and community second. The former government underfunded the Grubb Road upgrade from the outset, so the project languished until the Albanese Labor government stepped in and contributed $2.2 million of additional funding. As of October, workers have been on the ground, getting the job done.

It's absolutely clear the Albanese government is investing in the Bellarine, Geelong, the Surf Coast and Golden Plains. We've also rolled out about $2 million in blackspot funding to improve road safety within the city of Greater Geelong in the last year alone. I'm advocating strongly on the point of Armstrong Creek, and it is up to the city of Greater Geelong. Because it is local roads, they can apply for funding. I'm wanting them to do more for blackspot funding, and to access some of the funding that the federal government has put forward. I'm pushing them to that in a rapidly growing area that does need attention. We included funding to upgrade the roundabout at Marshalltown Road and Bailey Street in Grovedale. The roundabout had been notoriously dangerous with many accidents just outside the busy Grovedale Primary School. Now, locals have a new roundabout with wombat crossings, a new road surface and street lighting.

We've also rolled out more than $1.3 million for road projects on the Surf Coast. This has delivered much-needed upgrades for the Esplanade, one of Torquay's busiest thoroughfares along the beachfront. We're also about to upgrade the intersection at Surf Coast Highway and Reserve Road, another much-needed project underfunded by the coalition. Importantly, we're about to kick off early next year on stage 2 of the Barwon Heads Road upgrade. This is in the heart of Armstrong Creek, Charlemont and Mount Duneed, and it's taken a Labor government working with the state to make this happen. This is a joint funding partnership, a $250 million project, that will duplicate this busy arterial road. The upgrade will make a massive difference to local workers, families and business owners travelling to Geelong and the coast, particularly during the busy summer months. On Saturday, we officially opened the Waurn Ponds rail duplication, with works now complete. This is an almost $1 billion project that will mean more trains on the line and fewer cars on the road. It is funded by the Albanese government and the state government.

In closing, after a decade of the former coalition government promising the world and delivering little, the Albanese government is doing the work needed.