Petition to get 'the slip' fixed permanantly

A petition to have a section of the Mirboo North–Trafalgar Rd known as 'the slip' repaired once and for all, has been lodged with the State Government.

Local drivers say they have endured 50 years of inadequate, short-term repairs on the slip, which is subject to constant movement that continually pushes the road surface down the hill.
The route is an important and busy arterial, linking Trafalgar with Thorpdale, Mirboo-North, Narracan and Childers, and is managed by the Department of Transport.
School buses, families, farmers, log trucks, potato trucks and tourists use the road, with many of them having no other alternative.
The surrounding region is an important primary production area with tonnes of brushed potatoes transported on the network annually.
"The road is in terrible condition," said Baw Baw Shire Cr Brendan Kingwill.
"It's a well-used road and I don't know how it hasn't had any serious accidents - but there have been accidents."
"For someone that doesn't know the road, if you're coming down there at your normal 80 km an hour, it's around corners, so you're going to hit it unknown."
"You've got the original road about 200 metres down the side of the hill. It's only a matter of time until a car is in the same location and we don't want that to happen."
A lack of investment in a permanent solution has led to the road constantly being rebuilt and has a permanent signed speed limit of 20 km/hr.
The petition, lodged through Member for Narracan Wayne Farnham's office, is calling on the government to take immediate action by funding a permanent fix and ensuring safety for road users and the local community.
Baw Baw Shire Council previously advocated to the State Government for a permanent solution.
In June 2025, council carried a motion to write a letter to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne, seeking the status of plans to permanently fix the landslip site and annual maintenance costs. It also outlined council's concerns for the safety of residents.
"We sent the letter off and we got a reply which basically told us that they were aware of us," explained Cr Kingwill, adding that he believed cost was a factor.
"But you've got to remember this is not a new thing. This isn't just over the last few years. I drove over it with my 90-year-old mother and I said to her, this has been like this my entire life, and she said, it's been like that for her entire life."
"We need people signing the petition. We need numbers behind it. It's out of sight; it's out of mind, so unless we keep bringing this to their attention nothing's going to get done. Some of the comments on my socials were around the fact that they won't do anything anyway, but the point is, they won't do anything unless we keep fighting for it."
The petition can be signed at various venues across Thorpdale, Trafalgar, Yarragon, Mirboo North, Darnum and Warragul or online until Monday, August 31 at: Mirboo North – Trafalgar Road - Petitions - Parliament of Victoria.