Thousands rally outside parliament to demand action on potholes and road safety

Thousands of motorcyclists gathered outside Victoria's parliament on Sunday to voice their concerns about safety issues stemming from the state of the road network, with a focus on potholes.

More than 3,000 people attended the broken roads rally, which started at 11am. The rally was held in the wake of the death of Peter "Tiki" Mason, who died while riding his motorbike on the Western Highway near Trawalla last month.

Chants of "fix the roads" could be heard alongside the roar of motorbikes outside state parliament. The rally was organised by Michael White and Paul Povh, who host a motorcycling YouTube channel.

"We're not here because we're bloody happy," Mr White said as he addressed the crowd. "We're not here because we care about Labor, Liberal, Greens, One Nation, anyone."

"We're here because of the bloody state of the roads and we're sick of burying our mates."

Police have said they were still investigating the cause of the incident, while Mr Mason's family have shared their heartbreak and said they did not want his death to be used to promote "political agendas".

In recent days, heavy rain in some parts of the state has resulted in fresh potholes on the road network. Concerns about potholes and poor road maintenance have become a key topic in the lead-up to the November state election.

A recent report from the Victorian Auditor-General's Office on the maintenance of the state's roads found that the proportion of state-managed roads in poor or very poor condition had increased from 39 to 48 per cent between 2021 and 2024.

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson attended the rally, while Premier Ben Carroll spoke with the rally's organisers on Saturday. Ahead of the state election, Labor has promised $1 billion for road maintenance, and has also doubled the amount allocated to fixing potholes this year with an additional $352 million. The Coalition has promised to spend $5 billion over four years to improve the state's roads.