Roads have emerged as a sharper point of contest in the Nepean by-election, with Libertarian candidate Peter Angelico using a campaign video and a subsequent interview with STPL News to blast Anthony Marsh’s messaging on potholes, funding and credibility.
In the video that sparked the exchange, Angelico argues that Marsh has made roads a central campaign issue while remaining Mornington Peninsula Shire Mayor, despite being on leave to contest the by-election. From there, Angelico’s argument broadens beyond road maintenance and into questions of honesty, priorities and whether the case being put to voters stands up to scrutiny.
Why the issue is cutting through
Asked why the video was resonating, Angelico said potholes were not just a political talking point but something residents were already dealing with directly.
“Well, I think it’s one of those issues that’s been bubbling around, and it’s not just an issue here in Nepean. It’s an issue right around the state. The potholes are just out of control,” he said.
He pointed to a local example involving a woman whose vehicle was damaged after hitting a pothole on the way to a school event for her granddaughter, saying it was “a real example of why that issue is probably resonating so much”.
‘Blatant hypocrisy’
Angelico’s sharpest criticism was directed at Marsh himself.
“It’s probably more the blatant hypocrisy,” he said.
“You can’t say on one hand, oh, look, the road’s terrible and Labour aren’t doing a great job. Hang on. You’re the mayor, mate.”
He then followed that up with another pointed line.
“And you’re going to gaslight people. At least get your facts right.”
For Angelico, the issue is not only what is being promised on roads, but whether the message can be squared with Marsh’s current role in local government. That is the contradiction he is now trying to make central to the campaign debate.
More than potholes
Angelico said the roads debate also had wider implications for trust in politics.
“And it actually turns people off politics,” he said.
“And then the public lose confidence in democracy. So I think, well, what’s the point? You know, we’re going to get the same old crap every time an issue comes up and you get lied to.”
That line of argument shifts the discussion away from potholes alone and into what Angelico says is a broader issue of public frustration with political messaging that does not match reality.
Why roads matter in Nepean
Asked whether roads were really a by-election issue rather than simply a council matter, Angelico said the answer was clear in an electorate like Nepean.
“It’s an issue that’s right across the state, but in particular in Nepean, because there’s no public transport down here, or very little,” he said.
“There’s a few bus routes and things like that, but no trains or anything. So people are in their cars almost every day.”
That gives the issue local force. Angelico’s argument is that in an electorate heavily reliant on private vehicles, road quality is not secondary. It is part of daily life.
Honesty and solutions
Angelico also used the interview to argue that politicians needed to be upfront with voters and offer more than a headline complaint.
“Just be honest with people. It’s not that hard,” he said.
“You don’t just gaslight and lie to them and say, oh, yes, it’s going to be fine.”
He said that if candidates wanted to campaign on a problem, they also had to explain how they would solve it.
“You’ve got to come up with solutions as well,” he said.
“It’s all well and good highlighting an issue. But then what’s the solution? How do you fix it? And that’s what people want to know.”
Credibility and public money
Looking beyond roads, Angelico said the larger test for voters was credibility.
“All of the issues come and go, but credibility and reputation are so important,” he said.
He tied that directly to public responsibility.
“At the end of the day, you’re spending taxpayers’ money or ratepayers’ money in that case. And there’s actually a higher obligation to spend other people’s money more wisely.”
That answer broadens his criticism from campaign messaging to record and judgment, with Angelico arguing that voters should assess not only what candidates promise, but how they handle responsibility when trusted with public money.
The Libertarian alternative
Angelico said the Libertarian position was that roads should remain a priority, but be funded through savings and efficiencies rather than new taxes.
“Well, first of all, not new taxes,” he said.
He argued the money already existed within government budgets if waste was reduced and projects were better managed.
“There’s plenty of money in the budget already. They’re just not using it, or not spending our money wisely,” he said.
He said the real task was to fix underlying problems rather than paper over them.
“You’ve got a problem, you identify the root cause and then you fix it. You can’t just put a Band-Aid on a Band-Aid.”
For now, Angelico is trying to turn a roads video into a broader campaign line. His argument is that once Marsh chose to make roads central to his message, scrutiny of that message became unavoidable.
