The Baird Government has largely maintained road funding to local government in real terms with its latest budget, delivering overall a slight $10.7 million boost to the Fixing Country Roads Program, Local Government NSW said today.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian’s Budget largely redistributed $111 million of existing funding in improvedroad freight productivity, road safety and the Bridges for the Bush program, while boosting both Regional Road Block Grant funding and the Regional Roads REPAIR program by 2% to a total of $180.7 million.
“NSW councils are wholly responsible for managing more than 164,000 kilometres – about 90% - of all local roads in NSW,” LGNSW President Keith Rhoades said.
“They spend more than $1.2 billion each year to maintain these roads, but the life cycle cost of the state’s entire local road system is estimated at $1.5 billion per year.
“For regional roads and bridges there is a life cycle funding gap of $89 million per year, and this $10.7 million won’t go very far in meeting that.
“Local government is keen to address the existing roads maintenance backlog and provide a local road network that is effective and efficient, not only for private travel, but the movement of goods.
“The Government has not seized the opportunity to do so while it is benefitting from the lease of electricity poles and wires, and it will only get tougher to make up the shortfall in the future when this windfall is no longer available.”
Clr Rhoades noted that the Government had kept its funding commitments to amalgamated councils and future Joint Organisations of councils, which would go part of the way to meet the costs imposed through this process.
Other Budget implications for local government included:
- $240 million over five years for biodiversity reforms, including up to $15 million in the 2016/17 financial year for biodiversity conservation on public land
- $45 million for the Country Towns Water Supply and Sewage Program
- Container Deposit Scheme funding of $2.5 million
- $31 million for coastal, estuary and flood management
- $23 million for community building partnerships to provide improved community infrastructure projects
- $17 million allocated to the Greater Sydney Commission to work with councils and the community on high level planning issues
- A multicultural grants program of $2.8 million to foster community harmony
- A $2 million increase in funding for local arts and cultural development (from $51 million last year to $53 million in 2016/17)
- $1 million for liveable communities as part of the NSW Ageing Strategy
- A small but symbolic funding increase of $800,000 to $28.3 million in 2016/17 for public libraries
Clr Rhoades said it was important to recognise that programs such as the Local Infrastructure Renewal Scheme – promoted by Local Government Minister Paul Toole as a $16 million funding boon – really provided a subsidy on the interest paid on council loans taken out to build community infrastructure. The program is now closed and the funding outlined in the budget is for legacy commitments.
“We’re also disappointed that there is no additional funding for local government’s ageing and disability workers beyond the existing three-year funding agreement that ends in 2018/19,” he said.
