Opinion & Perspectives
9 October, 2026
Opinion Cr Karen Hyslop
Councillor briefings provide a great opportunity for us councillors to receive directorate updates, so we can continue to have a greater understanding what is happening throughout the shire and organisation.
At a recent briefing we received an update on the Infrastructure and Amenity directorate, which
detailed how the past financial year was a particularly productive one for the shire’s unsealed road
network.
Council graded 43.03 per cent of the network in 2025/26, compared with 29.71 per cent in 2024/25,
32.23 per cent in 2023/24, 37.10 per cent in 2022/23 and 30.48 per cent in 2021/22.
The cost of grading also reduced to about $595 per kilometre, compared with a five-year average of
approximately $700 per kilometre.
Managing gravel roads is a bit like farming — when the conditions are right, you need to make the
most of them.
Moisture is critical to achieving an effective and durable grade, and the prolonged wet winter has
provided favourable conditions.
As a result, our Infrastructure and Amenity director believes the start to 2026/27 is looking promising,
with crews taking advantage of the available moisture while conditions remain suitable.
At the same time, our team is prioritising urgent safety works where flooding has caused damage or
created hazards across the network.
On the sealed network, 92.83 per cent of roads are currently maintained to condition standards,
compared with 92.40 per cent in 2024/25, 91.62 per cent in 2023/24, 95.90 per cent in 2022/23 and
95.33 per cent in 2021/22.
While the longer-term trend is down, the decline has been relatively slow.
Council has always recognised that maintaining the shire’s road network within available resources is
an uphill battle.Our organisation’s approach has been to slow deterioration and ensure that any decline is
concentrated, as far as practical, in the lowest-priority parts of the network.
For context, the Victorian Auditor-General recently reported a materially greater deterioration across
the state road network, with about 48 per cent of state roads rated poor or very poor in 2024,
compared with about 39 per cent in 2021.
The networks and pressures are distinctly different, so it is not a like-for-like comparison, but it does
provide useful context for council’s position.
I’m pleased to report that overall, council is making the most of favourable seasonal conditions,
directing resources to the highest-priority maintenance and safety needs, and continuing to manage
deterioration of a very large road network within the resources available.
You will be able to read more about our infrastructure wins in the past financial year in our Annual
Report 2025/26, which is due to be adopted by council this month.
Read More: Stawell