A CAIRNS News reader and vlogger has urged Aussie road users to wake up to the fact that whichever authority has jurisdiction over any particular road also holds the liability associated with damage caused by unmaintained roads.
Responding to a story that appeared in the Herald-Sun, Victorian Rumbler Gazza O, whose channel goes by the title Bobsthejob, says damage caused by these unmaintained roads can amount to possible criminal negligence charges for death or injury incurred.
“A case in point is a friend who hit a pothole near Werribee (Victoria) some months back,” Gary said. “The repair to the damaged wheel and rim of his BMW was expensive, but his mechanic made a claim to the Department of Transport and succeeded in getting compensation for the damage, which was $1100 out of the $1500 repair cost.”
In an email to the Herald-Sun reporter, Gazza pointed out that there should be no problem with the maintenance of this country’s roads, because the excise on fuel is meant to pay for the building and upkeep of our roads.
He is intending to make a video on the subject, calling it Grand Theft Auto, Australian Government, which pretty much describes the situation. Gazza’s page is on Rumble and is called “bobsthejob” and he reckons the coming story “should be good”.
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported data from the National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) as showing that call-outs for wheel and tyre-related damage in NSW were up 81 per cent in August 2022 on the same time last year. In Victoria, a string of drivers had to stop beside the Hume Freeway near Seymour on October 14 after hitting massive potholes made worse by heavy rain.
Gazza has other videos on the channel showing people how to make a claim against their local council or even the state or federal government. Another recent video covers the topic of the Federal Government unlawfully shutting down vaping businesses.
Up to 50,000 people have petitioned the parliament to stop legislation that has apparently been passed to implement the vaping business ban.
Gazza made the council liability videos after a former colleague told him he had discovered the company that insures every local council in Australia is Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT). Gazza says all of his information comes from the JLT executive his friend spoke to in that phone call.
Gazza’s local council, Geelong City Council, “mysteriously” dropped a bike lane plan after Gazza issued them with a notice of commercial liability on behalf of businesses on the shopping strip that would have been affected by removal of parking for the bike lane.
