Blunt message spray painted on road as Aussies 'sick and tired' of major problem
South Australian minister Blair Boyer notified council after the spray-painted message drew his attention to the road defect.
It's an increasingly familiar sight to see roads in disrepair and Aussies across the country are feeling frustrated.
Not only do potholes and uneven surfaces run the risk of a costly trip to the mechanic but they also pose a danger to motorists and pedestrians alike — with one road user showing their anger over a defect by spray painting a clear message.
'Fix it you lazy pricks' was sprayed on an Adelaide road with an arrow pointing to an uneven kerb at a roundabout. It appears some work had been carried out to smooth the surface but it is seemingly incomplete, prompting the brutal call for action.
MP condemns graffiti online before taking action
An image of the road message was posted online by MP Blair Boyer, the South Australian Minister of Education, Training and Skills, who confirmed he does not condone graffiti but did notify authorities of the road conditions.
"I don’t agree with spray painting the road to make your point (and just creating further work for council in the process), but nonetheless I have written to City of Tee Tree Gully council about the kerb," he said.
His post was met with thousands of comments from locals and some said it was telling that representatives only take notice of such issues once a drastic measure like this was taken.
"If the council fixed it in a timely fashion in the first place people wouldn’t have to resort to spray painting a road," one said.
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Aussies 'sick and tired' of potholes in roads
It is estimated South Australians face almost $3 billion to fix their crumbling roads, with up to 2039 kilometres of roads in major disrepair according to figures obtained by The Adelaide Advertiser under a Freedom of Information request.
"People are sick and tired ... we have to put up with bad roads and bad footpaths," another Adelaide local wrote.
However, the issue is not exclusive to South Australia with several La Niña and flooding weather events in the past few years having a significant impact on road conditions, and it appears federal government funding is not keeping up with local councils' demand for resources.
Despite councils collectively managing around 75 per cent of Australia’s road network by length, only four per cent of national taxation goes toward road maintenance and repair, the Australia Local Government Association reported.
"The research shows that over the past 20 years federal Financial Assistance Grants have failed to keep pace with the rising costs of constructing and maintaining roads," Australian Local Government Association President Councillor Linda Scott said.
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