Anthony Marsh wanted to talk about potholes. Instead, he has created another controversy of his own.
The issue is not that Marsh highlighted a road defect. The issue is what the image appears to show. In the post, Marsh appears to be on White Hill Road with a spray can, marking the road surface himself. There is no visible high-visibility gear, no visible traffic control, and the person taking the photo also appears to be on or near the roadway.
That is where the problem starts.
Apparent unauthorised works on a live road
White Hill Road is a state-managed arterial road with an 80-90 km/h speed limit. On its face, the image raises serious questions about apparent unauthorised works and road safety.
Roads are not campaign props. They are live traffic environments. Anyone stepping onto one to mark the surface for a political photo should expect scrutiny. That scrutiny only increases when there is no visible sign of a controlled work site, no protective equipment, and no clear effort to separate people from moving traffic.
The photographer’s apparent position also matters. If the image shows what it appears to show, then this was not just Marsh on the road. It was at least two people involved in creating campaign content on or near an active roadway.
As mayor, Marsh should know better
Marsh is not just the Liberal candidate for Nepean. He is still the current Mayor of Mornington Peninsula Shire.
That makes this worse. A sitting mayor should understand that hazards on major roads are meant to be reported through proper channels, not turned into roadside campaign content. He should also understand the risk of being on or near an active road without visible safety controls in place.
This is not a case of a first-time candidate making a naive mistake. Marsh holds public office now. He should know better.
A pattern already on the record
This latest episode also does not stand alone. It lands on top of a broader credibility problem already reported by STPL News.
STPL previously reported that Marsh told voters in 2024 he had “no political affiliations” and would not “disappear to run for parliament”, before later emerging as the Liberal candidate for Nepean.
STPL also reported leaked text messages appearing to show Marsh privately backing Labor’s Paul Mercurio in the 2022 state election.
Then came STPL’s fact check into the repeated claim that Marsh increased road funding by 72 per cent. That claim did not stack up as presented, with the key decision predating his mayoralty.
Taken together, the pattern is becoming harder to ignore. Time and again, Marsh’s political message ends up buried under questions about consistency, credibility and judgment.
Minister asked to respond
STPL News has written to Roads and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne for comment on whether the conduct shown raises concerns about apparent unauthorised works, road safety, and the apparent absence of visible traffic management or protective equipment.
Reporting a pothole is one thing. Appearing to mark a state-managed 80-90 km/h road for campaign content is another.
The real story is not the pothole
A pothole is a legitimate public issue. But if Marsh thought this image would make him look proactive, he misread it badly.
What voters saw was not leadership. They saw a sitting mayor apparently treating a live road as a campaign backdrop, without visible hi-vis gear, without visible traffic control, and with a photographer apparently on or near the roadway as well.
Marsh wanted a pothole story.
Instead, he dug himself into another hole.
