Thousands of motorcyclists join pothole rally outside Victorian parliament

In short:

More than 3,000 people attended the broken roads rally, which started at 11am outside Victoria's parliament.

The rally was held in the wake of the death of Peter "Tiki" Mason, who died while riding his motorbike on the Western Highway near Trawalla last month.

Road maintenance and the prevalence of potholes have become a key focus in the lead-up to the November state election.

Thousands of motorcyclists descended on Victoria's parliament on Sunday to voice their concerns about safety issues stemming from the state of the road network, with a focus on potholes.

Chants of "fix the roads" could be heard alongside the roar of motorbikes outside state parliament as more than 3,000 attendees joined the rally, which began at 11am.

The so-called broken roads rally was organised by Michael White and Paul Povh, who host a motorcycling YouTube channel.

"We're not here because we're bloody happy," Mr White said as he addressed the crowd.

"We're not here because we care about Labor, Liberal, Greens, One Nation, anyone.

"We're here because of the bloody state of the roads and we're sick of burying our mates."

The rally was organised in the wake of the death of 71-year-old Peter "Tiki" Mason, who died while riding his motorbike on the Western Highway near Trawalla last month, after he was believed to have struck a pothole.

Police have said they were still investigating the cause of the incident, while Mr Mason's family have shared their heartbreak and said they did not want his death to be used to promote "political agendas".

In recent days, heavy rain in some parts of the state has resulted in fresh potholes on the road network.

Concerns about potholes and poor road maintenance have become a key topic in the lead-up to the November state election.

A recent report from the Victorian Auditor-General's Office on the maintenance of the state's roads found that the proportion of state-managed roads in poor or very poor condition had increased from 39 to 48 per cent between 2021 and 2024.

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson attended the rally, while Premier Ben Carroll spoke with the rally's organisers on Saturday.

Ahead of the state election, Labor has promised $1 billion for road maintenance, and has also doubled the amount allocated to fixing potholes this year with an additional $352 million. The Coalition has promised to spend $5 billion over four years to improve the state's roads.