Victorian government plans to use prisoners for road maintenance and pothole repairs ahead of 2026 election

Consensus Summary

The Victorian government has announced a plan to use minimum-security prisoners for roadside maintenance tasks, including mowing lawns, removing graffiti, and picking up rubbish, as part of a broader effort to address the state’s worsening pothole crisis. Premier Ben Carroll revealed the initiative on Monday, following a $352 million increase in the road maintenance budget to fix 500,000 potholes by the end of January 2026. The plan also includes establishing a website for reporting and tracking pothole repairs, aiming to improve transparency and accountability in road maintenance efforts. The opposition has criticized the proposal, calling it a 'con job' and pledging a $5 billion investment over four years to eliminate 1 million potholes if elected in November.

The decision comes amid growing public frustration with Victoria’s roads, which have deteriorated significantly in recent years. Data from the Snap Send Solve app shows a 46.4 per cent increase in pothole complaints year-on-year, with 37,482 reports submitted in the year to August 16. Experts suggest that flooding, particularly the 2022 floods, has contributed to the deterioration of the road network, with 8,400 kilometers of roads affected. The government’s plan to bring road maintenance 'back in-house' and reduce reliance on private contractors is framed as a long-term solution, though no specific timeline for implementation has been provided.

Key figures in the debate include Premier Ben Carroll, who previously served as roads minister between 2020 and 2022, and Shadow Roads Minister Danny O’Brien, who has accused Labor of neglecting road maintenance for 12 years. Carroll emphasized that the prisoner labor program would supplement the workforce rather than replace paid jobs, allowing skilled crews to focus on fixing potholes. The opposition has dismissed the plan as insufficient, arguing that Labor’s track record shows it has never fixed more than 200,000 potholes in a year. Both sides agree that the issue has become a major concern for regional Victorians ahead of the November election.

While the ABC, Guardian, and The Age all cover the core details of the plan, there are differences in emphasis and specific figures. The Guardian and The Age highlight the opposition’s $5 billion, four-year plan to eliminate 1 million potholes, whereas the ABC focuses more on the immediate timeline of fixing 500,000 potholes by the end of January. The Age also provides technical details about road maintenance methods, such as Queensland’s use of 3 per cent bitumen and 1 per cent cement in granular pavement, suggesting Victoria could adopt similar solutions. Additionally, The Age reports a 46.4 per cent increase in pothole complaints, a figure not mentioned by the other sources.

The government’s plan to delay some level-crossing removals in Melbourne’s south-east to fund the pothole repairs has drawn criticism, with the opposition arguing that the move is a short-term fix rather than a sustainable solution. Experts have also raised concerns about the feasibility of using prisoners for skilled road maintenance, suggesting that their roles should be limited to basic tasks. Despite these challenges, the government remains committed to its plan, with Carroll stressing that the initiative is about taking responsibility for road safety and improving transparency in service delivery. The next steps will likely involve the implementation of the prisoner labor pilot program and the launch of the pothole reporting website in the coming weeks.