Speaking in Parliament on Monday, February 18, Mr Albanese said Australian governments historically “haven’t invested large amounts in the Princes Highway”.

In December, South Coast Register and Milton-Ulladulla Times editor John Hanscombe and Bay Post/Moruya Examiner editor Kerrie O’Connor met Mr Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack at Parliament House to discuss the FIX IT NOW campaign.

The MPs that day issued a bi-partisan statement of support.

“At the end of last year, the Deputy Prime Minister and I had a chat,” Mr Albanese told Parliament.

“We spoke about the Princes Highway. I’d been down the South Coast and met with the editors of the papers that had run a campaign, FIX IT NOW, on the Princes Highway.

“They’d run an effective campaign advancing the interests of their communities and serving the public interest. One of the things that arose was something that doesn’t happen that often: we put out a joint statement.

“We’ve committed to bipartisanship on that issue, to see what we can do.

“Historically it’s not part of the national highway, therefore historically governments of both persuasions haven’t invested large amounts in the Princes Highway, that’s the truth. 

“There’s a clear case for us to do so, and to do so in a bipartisan way.”

In December, Mr McCormack toured the highway, visiting the scene of the Boxing Day 2017 crash which claimed the lives of five people, including four members of the Falkholt family.

On February 18 he outlined to Parliament an ambitious plan to bring down the national road toll.