The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-09-13 · by Roy Ward, Alexander Darling
A 71-year-old man died after hitting a pothole on Western Highway near Trawalla Road in Beaufort, Victoria, on Sunday at around 12:50 pm. The incident highlights ongoing concerns about the poor condition of regional roads in Victoria, with many residents and local representatives calling for urgent repairs before the upcoming state election. Local resident Katherine described the road as "shocking," noting its long-standing issues with potholes that pose significant safety risks to drivers.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A 71-year-old man died after reportedly hitting a pothole on the Western Highway and crashing his motorcycle just outside the town of Beaufort on Sunday.
uncertain
man → die → Sunday
Emergency services responded to the stretch of highway near Trawalla Road after the Ballarat man lost control of his motorcycle just before 12.50pm.
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man → respond → 12.50pm
Police confirmed he died at the scene and investigations are continuing.
The state of Victoria’s roads, particularly in regional and rural areas, has become a flashpoint in the lead-up to the state election in November.
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state → confirm → November
Potholes have caused delays, accidents and vehicle damage for thousands of voters.
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Potholes → cause → voters
The Labor member for Ripon Martha Haylett, whose seat covers Trawalla, said she had been pushing the government to fix the roads “properly”.
“
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she → cover → roads
I am devastated by this news.
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I → devastate → news
My heart goes out to the victim’s family and loved ones,” Haylett said on Sunday.
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Haylett → go → Sunday
“Our roads are not good enough, and I have been pushing the roads minister and others to begin repair works urgently.
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I → push → works
“Works started last week, but still have a way to go.
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Works → start → way
No person should ever lose their life on our roads and that’s why we have to fix them, and do it properly.”
Katherine, who asked for her surname not to be used, has lived in Trawalla for more than 30 years and said the stretch of highway between Ballarat and Beaufort had “dozens on dozens” of potholes.
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stretch → lose → potholes
We’ve had problems with that stretch for years, and even when they fix [the potholes] up they’re rough,” she said.
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she → have → potholes
“They come along and fix the worst of them, but usually, they don’t work weekends.
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they → come → weekends
Ben Carroll recently promised to come along and fix all of these [potholes], but this road needs a major upgrade sooner rather than later.
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road → promise → upgrade
I don’t understand why we’re in this position, constantly faced with the dilemma of poor roads.
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I → understand → roads
We’ve had problems with that stretch for years, and even when they fix [the potholes] up they’re rough.
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they → have → potholes
Trawalla resident Katherine
Katherine did not know which pothole the rider hit, but said both directions of the highway had their dangers.
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directions → know → dangers
“There are two lanes, but you have to swap so often,” she said.
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she → be → ?
“We used to be quite fearful of kangaroos, but now potholes are the danger.”
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potholes → use → kangaroos
Western Region MP Joe McCracken, whose upper house seat covers the area, expressed his frustration in an Instagram post on Sunday, calling on the government to do better.
“My condolences to the family and friends of this man - a very sad fatality.
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seat → cover → man
It is just awful and underscores the very real safety risks potholes pose to drivers,” McCracken wrote.
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McCracken → underscore → drivers
A report released by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office last week found 48 per cent of the state’s government-managed roads are in poor or very poor condition and decline is outpacing repairs.
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decline → release → repairs
Shadow roads and road safety minister Danny O’Brien said fixing the state’s roads needed to be the government’s highest priority.
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fixing → say → roads
“This is a terrible tragedy, and my heart goes out to the deceased and his family,” O’Brien said.
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O’Brien → go → deceased
“This is the saddest possible consequence to have come from the terrible state of Victorian roads, and it never should have come to this.
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it → come → this
“A government website has claimed it has completed rehabilitation works in this area, but clearly any repair job hasn’t been sustainable, and it has had fatal consequences,” he said.
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he → claim → consequences
“These potholes need to be fixed and fixed properly as a matter of urgency.
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potholes → need → urgency
It is time for action and this needs to be the highest priority now so that no more lives are lost on Victorian roads because of government neglect.
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lives → need → neglect
Premier Ben Carroll announced policies on potholes and road maintenance recently, and work is set to begin on fixing scores of potholes as the weather gets warmer.
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weather → announce → potholes
In August, this masthead reported on data gathered by citizen-reporting platform Snap Send Solve that showed reports of potholes and damaged roads increased more than 46 per cent to 37,482 in the year to August 16.
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reports → report → August
A state government spokesperson expressed sympathy to the 71-year-old’s loved ones, and echoed police calls for video or information about the crash.
“Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of those involved in this horrific tragedy,” the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → express → tragedy
“We thank the emergency services who responded to the scene and Victoria Police who are currently investigating.”
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who → thank → scene
Police have appealed for anyone with dashcam, CCTV footage or information about Sunday’s fatal crash to contact Crime Stoppers at crimestoppersvic.com.au or by calling 1800 333 000.
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anyone → appeal → 000
