General News
18 November, 2025
Community divided over VicRoads protest descending on Energy Breakthrough
Save Our VicRoads’ planned Energy Breakthrough protest has divided the community despite the organisers reassurances.
With mounting talk throughout the community on Save Our VicRoads’ planned Energy Breakthrough (EB) protest, last Thursday’s public meeting was the group’s chance to announce their next move.
An animated crowd returned to Maryborough Education Centre’s theatre last week for another public meeting.
Meeting organiser David Hendrickson had only one strict rule this time, “no politicians or councillors allowed”.
Community angst began in August this year when Central Goldfields Shire Council announced Maryborough VicRoads’ future would be under review following statewide funding model changes.
After months of negotiations between the shire and VicRoads, council declared on October 31 all VicRoads services would remain in Maryborough, at no cost to rate payers.
This announcement failed to satisfy campaigners, who want far more detail on how the agency will be funded, and for how long it will stay.
Mr Hendrickson has gained vast praise and recognition for championing the agency’s future. However, the latest protest plans have left much of the community concerned.
“All we are asking for, is how long we are secure for with VicRoads ... but because there are private companies involved they can’t release the information,” Mr Hendrickson said.
Hence, the night commenced with a run down of Save Our VicRoads’ mission for clarity, and why they won’t stop protesting.
“You would have heard the .... gossip is, we’ve got four roads leading into Maryborough, and I’m gonna shut Maryborough down. I am definitely not going to hurt this EB,” Mr Hendrickson said.
“I enjoy it. Even though my kids aren’t there, I still go down.”
This move started off as an idle threat, jokingly mentioned at the premiere public meeting on September 29.
“I thought my road blocking went well, so might I block the town up? Say, EB weekend? Stop people from coming in, and start getting some notice that we are serious about this,” Mr Hendrickson said at the first public meeting.
Those comments were met with praise in some areas of the forum, but silence and horrified expressions from others.
Regardless, it has grown and will see vehicles descending upon Tuaggra Street, a major detour precinct during EB, circling the area in an alleged presence of WIN News. Protesters will address a crowd afterwards and then plan to march onto Princes Park.
“Is a protest any good without publicity? Who sees it? If I do something out on the street, Win News won’t come down to see it. The roundabout between McDonald’s and the car wash, that will be our target,” Mr Hendrickson said.
“We want to know how long it’s open for. We want confirmation … We want VicRoads to be permanent, with a timeframe, not ‘permanent and we will keep reviewing the situation’.”
Mr Hendrickson urged the plans were legal and wouldn’t affect visiting schools. But EB volunteer John Weston dismissed the reassurance, fearing it was exploitation of the event.
“You’re distracting from EB now, and you’re giving people from outside Maryborough the wrong impression. EB is about the kids… you’re using a thing for the kids to promote something else, and these are people outside Maryborough, what are they going to think?” he said.
But Mr Hendrickson was adamant the future of VicRoads will impact the same school kids competing at EB.
“I emphasise, I do love the EB. EB is for a handful of kids from every school to compete in the event, which is brilliant. VicRoads is for every kid in every bloody town,” he said.
The highly attended previous public meeting saw numerous crowd comments firing bigger protest ideas than the blockade on Nolan street earlier that day.
In response, Mr Hendrickson then said future protests should be “civil” and “polite”.
“I don’t think we should be interfering with other people’s businesses ... but it’s got to be where people aren’t affected,” he said at the meeting.
“While I’d like them to be civil, we are not out there to cause grief and damage to property, we’re adults, we’re grown ups. We have got to be polite.”
However, long time EB volunteer and former school teacher Tony Macer has raised major safety concerns for the group’s next move.
“Dave, I don’t think any of us have got any argument with wanting VicRoads to be here, that’s why I have supported you all the way. But I hope it’s ok for me to say that I am really concerned with you using EB,” he said.
“I know you said it won’t be a distraction, but we already know online we have seen a lot of people are really opposed to the protest …that road you’re going to have, there’s kids everywhere. As a teacher, I would never get that through my risk assessment.
“The procession of big trucks in an area with kids, and parents... there’s going to be trucks in front of McDonald’s with thousands of school kids.
“You go to EB and see kids camping with their teachers, friends, parents, there is nothing better … we know what a special event it is.”
This didn’t stop other attendees from turning up the heat, who want other towns to witness the group’s efforts. Mr Hendrickson remained adamant the proposed protest would be only “five or 10 minutes of disruption to the community”.
He declared he will continue these moves until the parliamentary petition to reverse Maryborough VicRoads’ funding model is put to the Legislative Council.
Campaigners need a minimum of 2000 hard copy signature for it to be tabled in State Parliament.
However, some members of the community have been caught signing the petition at multiple locations, a move that could void the entire petition under parliamentary guidelines. With duplicate names removed, the petition sits at around 1500. The online petition has come to a stand still at just under 1190 signatures, both declining since October 31, despite a deadline of November 30, 2025.
Attendees argued future campaigners of different causes could use EB for publicity in years to come. But Mr Hendrickson disagreed and said such efforts must continue.
“People have to be riled up to get noticed, otherwise it dies. It dies of natural causes if things aren’t riled up,” he said.