A DEPARTMENT of Transport and Planning spokesperson has refused to confirm media reports that the Liberal candidate for the Nepean by-election, Anthony Marsh, is being investigated for “unauthorised roadworks”.
The issue centres around a campaign stunt last month involving the filling of a pothole on a state-managed road in Dromana.
In a social media video, Marsh was joined by Opposition Leader Jess Wilson. The footage shows the pair filling a pothole, using the act to criticise the state government’s handling of road maintenance.
“It’s roads like this that the Labor government can’t afford to fix,” Wilson said in the video, before Marsh added, “And nowhere is worse than right here in Nepean”.
Media has reported the video prompted a complaint to the department that escalated to the department’s management team. The reports suggested Marsh was under investigation.
The News contacted the department’s and asked if Marsh was being investigated for undertaking “unauthorised roadworks”. In response, The News received the following statement:
“We’re rebuilding, repairing and resurfacing hundreds of kilometres of Victorian roads thanks to our $976 million road maintenance blitz – the largest single-year investment in road maintenance in the state’s history. Any works undertaken on our roads and roadsides need to be done safely.”
When The News again asked if Marsh was being investigated for undertaking “unauthorised roadworks”, the media spokesperson replied with “The Department doesn’t have anything further to add on this matter”.
In response to criticism from Premier Jacinta Allan, Marsh said “Jacinta Allan is right, we shouldn’t be fixing her potholes, she should be.”
Wilson has responded by posting a follow-up video to social media in which she sits beside a pothole, stating she would “happily wait” for the Premier to address the issue herself.
“Jacinta Allan can’t, and won’t fix Victoria’s potholes, but I will,” Wilson said.
