A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to drop speeds to 80 kilometres per hour on some country roads has been met with sharp condemnation from several members of parliament.

Seven people have already lost their lives on regional Victorian roads this year and the State Government decision to drop the speed limit results from a parliamentary inquiry into the increase in Victoria’s Road toll, up five deaths last year, thus increasing safety.

The rationale is that lowering the speed limit on low traffic roads will reserve funding for higher traffic roads.

Western Victoria MP, Bev McArthur, opposed the decision, suggesting that this confirmed the government has “no intention of fixing dangerous roads in country Victoria.”

“For Daniel Andrews – it is much easier to blame a ‘speeding driver’ than the condition and surrounding circumstances of the country road network,” she said.

“Wild and unmanaged vegetation on roadsides adds to dangerous roads due to limiting visibility.

“It's also a fire hazard and a recipe for wildlife 'roadkill'.”

Ms McArthur said the reduced speed limits will not remove the initial problem of wildlife and potholes.

However, State Government media adviser, Isobel Loschiavo said the response was “cheap political point scoring by the Victorian Liberal and National parties.”

Ms Loschiavo said the issue will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and the variable speed limit “considers factors including types of road users and the surrounding road environment,” and will have crews assessing each “road network's safety and condition each and every day, helping us respond to any hazards when they occur”.

She said with of the fraction of the $100 million budget of those “stupidly placed wire-rope barriers,” a huge number of improvements can be completed,” whilst already “$42 million is being invested into rebuilding, repairing and resurfacing close to 170 kilometres of roads across south-west Victoria”.

The State Government said they are working through a Network Safety Plan to identify which roads will get fixed and which ones won’t, which will take two years to complete.

 Ms McArthur condemned this length of time.

“Give country and regional Victorians (just) two weeks and they can give you a comprehensive list of every appalling road in the state,” she said.

“Each of these deserves to get fixed.

“Reducing speed limits doesn’t fill potholes, doesn’t fill cracks and certainly doesn’t stop roads completely falling apart; it just means the government has to do less.

Lowan MP, Emma Kealy was similarly angered by the decision, calling it an “admission of failure” and

“This is a lazy and arrogant decision by the government, which demands cars be roadworthy but does nothing to ensure roads are car-worthy,” she said.

Ms Kealy said the State Government should focus on fixing country Victoria’s crumbling road network.

“Labor cut the road maintenance budget by 25 per cent last year and now, because of crumbling roads and potholes, they plan to drop speed limits on country roads to 80km/h,” she said.

“What makes this decision even harder to take is at the same time as maintenance funds are cut to just $617 million, we are seeing $52 billion being spent on four city-based transport projects.

“Even more infuriating is the $6 billion in cost over-runs on the West Gate Tunnel and Melbourne Metro projects.”

She said the decisions appear to be a result of “mismanagement of city projects” that have meant regional road maintenance suffered.

“Reducing speed limits doesn’t fill potholes, doesn’t fill cracks and certainly doesn’t stop roads completely falling apart; it just means the government has to do less,” Ms Kealy said.

Roads, Transport Infrastructure and Regional Recovery shadow minister, Louise Stanley, said the proposed speed limit lowering is a “band aid measure that ignores the fact that roads like the Western Highway between Ararat and Ballarat, are crumbling.”

 “Victorians would be forced to factor in extra travel time” Ms Stanley said as she suggested lowering speed limits “rubs salt into the wound of regional Victorians.”

Ms Kealy said if elected to government this year, the Nationals would reinstate the successful Country Roads and Bridges Program.

The program provided funding to rural councils to upgrade local roads but was cut by Labor after they were elected in 2014.

“It’s not rocket science: fix country roads, and you will save country lives,” Ms Kealy said.

She said the government announced it supported moves to reduce speed limits on some rural roads after it was among the recommended from a parliamentary committee with a Labor majority.

“The opposition MPs on this committee vigorously opposed the recommendation, so any attempt to sell this as a bipartisan initiative is dishonest,” Ms Kealy said.

“I find it galling that in its response to the recommendation that speed limits be reduced, the Andrews Government acknowledged that country communities would be concerned by the changes but said it would “educate” us on the risks of speed and links to road trauma.

“Instead of patronising us with an education campaign about risks we well understand, the government would be well advised to invest some of our taxes into properly fixing the roads we rely on to get to work, school and to conduct our daily business”.