Fix the Brown campaign has described Saturday’s serious landslip on the NSW Snowy Mountains Highway around Brown Mountain as a condemnation of Federal and NSW governments’ contempt, inaction and delay on NSW regional roads and highways.

“They found $4billion for the ‘spaghetti junction’ Rozelle Interchange in Sydney, just opened amid confusion. But they can’t rake up a modest $7.5m each for a $15m expert, external engineering study to work out how to fix the notorious Brown Mountain Road,” said Jon Gaul, Fix the Brown Campaign Co-ordinator.

The Brown Mountain section of the Snowy Mountains Highway is the vital transport artery linking the NSW Far South Coast to Canberra, Cooma and the Monaro. A 10 km long mountain pass of twists, turns and hairpins descending 1,000 metres down the escarpment.

According to Mr Gaul, the highway is unstable, subject to frequent landslides, landslips, tree falls and rock falls. The road is unreliable, subject to regular closures and single-lane blockages. The road is unsafe.

“Saturday’s latest landslip will impact important summer tourism access to the Sapphire Coast as well as essential fuel and retail and wholesale supplies, vital health access to Canberra, education, agriculture and friends and relative’s visitation,” he said.

“The road is not capable of carrying B Double truck traffic, adding cost and delay to transport and affecting livelihoods and cost of living.”

Brown Mountain has been subject to single-lane red light access since another serious landslip in March 2022, which Transport NSW says won’t be fixed until mid-2024 – 27 months of single lane blockage and delays.

Now commuters are faced with a second restricted traffic zone on the dangerous misty covered mountain pass, said Jon Gaul. Will this latest landslip take two and a half years to fix?

The section of road is notoriously dangerous with Saturday’s incident occurring exactly where attempts at stabilisation took place in 2020.

“Temporary band-aid solutions don’t address public safety,” said Mr Gaul.

“As a result of our Fix the Brown Campaign petitions and citizen advocacy, the three local elected representatives in SE NSW: Federal Member for Eden-Monaro, Kristy McBain; State Member for Monaro, Steve Whan; and State Member for Bega, Dr Michael Holland wrote a joint letter to the NSW Roads Minister detailing Brown Mountain issues and appealing for action. That was in May.

“I have not been told a reply has been received,” said Mr Gaul.

In August, the local Federal Member together with Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King announced a Regional Partnerships Program to address issues in the Eden Monaro, he said; some three months on, nothing has been heard.

“What projects are suitable? Which bodies may apply? Who, what and when? Who’s got the answers? Who’s raising the questions,” said Mr Gaul.

He said the only action seemingly taken by the Federal Government has been to take away funds from road improvement and initiatives like the Jindabyne bypass.

The Fix the Brown community campaign (fixthebrown.com) has been calling for governments to fund the $15m external, expert engineering study of Brown Mountain to recommend how to upgrade to a safe, reliable all-weather link, or identify a viable alternative route up the Great Divide. The campaign has also criticised inaction on the Brown Mountain issue by the NRMA.

Failure to prioritise Eden-Monaro roads

Liberal candidate for Eden-Monaro Joanne van der Plaat said the landslip on the weekend has exposed Albanese Labor Government’s failure to prioritise funding and support for Eden-Monaro roads.

She said Brown Mountain landslides will continue to cause immense travel delays and could put lives in danger as we start to get closer to the bushfire season.

“Back in Opposition, Kristy McBain was committed to funding for fixing this road, but now as a Minister she seems to have forgotten about our community,” Ms van der Plaat said.

“She is failing to fight for Eden-Monaro’s fair share of funding and infrastructure – the Albanese Government should already be looking to declare this stretch a Road of Strategic Importance as the community has been calling, so it can get the federal funding that’s needed.

“Kristy McBain has found time to get around the country as the Minister for Regional Development to announce millions in Roads to Recovery funding in other regions, but not for this community.

“The Brown Mountain route is the main east-west transport link between Canberra, Cooma, the Riverina and the [NSW Far South] coast and it provides essential access for freight, emergency services and visitors to the region. It is a lynchpin for the Far South Coast retail and tourism economy, and this critical connection to the ACT and southern NSW needs to be made safe,” she said.

“Everyone on the South Coast and the Monaro knows the importance of Brown Mountain during the Black Summer fires, where it remained open at times when many other transport routes were cut.

“Kristy McBain continues to say she’s investigating the issue – but there are no signs of action. Instead, we got the cancellation of the Jindabyne Southern Connector,” said Ms van der Plaat. “This is just another example of the Albanese Labor Government’s lack of focus on the needs of the regions.

“I will continue to fight for proper funding for Eden-Monaro, including upgrades and repairs to our roads and infrastructure.”

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