Council
23 November, 2023
Welcome increase to roads funding after report highlights under investment
Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann, has welcomed a Federal Labor Government commitment to boost local roads and road safety funding, and reform programs to reduce the administrative burden on local councils.
Under the changes, Roads to Recovery funding will rise gradually from $500 million to $1 billion per year, and Black Spot funding will increase from the current annual commitment of $110 million to $150 million per year.
In addition, the Government will merge the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program (HVSPP) and the Bridges Renewal Program (BRP) into a new Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program.
The amount of funding for the new program will also gradually increase, such that $200 million will be available per year, up from the current $150 million total annual investment in the HVSPP and the BRP.
The changes were recommended by the Infrastructure Investment Program review, and the increases in funding will be phased in over the forward estimates to avoid putting pressure on inflation, supply costs and the construction labour market.
The announcement came the same week that the Local Government Association of Queensland welcomed calls for more funding for roads and cuts to red tape holding back local government from providing the “liveability their communities deserve”.
The ‘Grattan Institute’s Potholes and Pitfalls: How to fix local roads’ report found councils were being grossly underfunded.
It reported simply maintaining current roads needed an extra $1 billion a year nationally, and more to improve them.
LGAQ’s Alison Smith said councils were battling massive cost increases – in excess of 60 per cent for some road materials – and more money was needed from the other two levels of government to maintain the roads that communities across the state relied on.
“All councils need more funding to provide the safe, reliable roads their communities deserve,” Ms Smith said
