THE Federal Government has backflipped on plans to slash speed limits on regional roads, a proposal that never should have seen the light of day, says Member for Parkes Jamie Chaffey.

More than 11,000 submissions rejected the proposal.

Mr Chaffey said the decision to quietly drop the policy is an admission Labor has failed to address the real issue: fixing dangerous, crumbling regional roads.

“This plan was a diversion from the fact that road funding has fallen a long way behind what is needed to maintain regional roads,” Mr Chaffey said.

“Safety issues cannot be addressed by asking people to slow down to drive around potholes.

“Regional communities, local councils, and Liberal and National MPs have told the Albanese Labor Government in no uncertain terms they do not want this plan, and common sense has prevailed.

“This was a ridiculous plan, and the Labor Government has wasted months pushing a policy that punished regional motorists instead of repairing the roads that endanger them.”

Mr Chaffey said the Government’s backdown follows overwhelming public opposition, including more than 11,000 submissions rejecting Labor’s proposal.

“Cutting speed limits would have been a lazy substitute for real road investment,” he said.

“The amount of necessary funding that has been knocked back through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements in the past three to four years is staggering at about $150 million.

“Councils cannot meet these enormous costs, and they should not be expected to,” he said.

The backdown comes as Australia faces a worsening road-safety crisis, where 1361 Australians lost their lives on the road in the past year.

Two-thirds of those fatalities occurred on regional Australia and October recorded the worst monthly toll in five years, with fatalities 14.9 per cent above average.

“Axing the speed-limit plan is a victory for regional Australia, but road safety won’t improve until the Albanese Government invests in the roads themselves,” Mr Chaffey said.

“It’s time they got on with the task of making roads safer by fixing them and filling the potholes,” Mr Chaffey said.

Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Senator Bridget McKenzie, said Labor MPs with experience in the transport sector acknowledged this was a badly conceived proposal.

“It should never have taken this long. The Government wasted months pushing a policy that punished regional motorists instead of repairing the roads that endanger them,” she said.

“Dropping the speed-limit plan is a victory for regional Australians and the MPs who stood up for them.”