Local governments across the state are to share in $1.2 billion worth of commonwealth funding for local roads over the next five years.
The federal government says the investment is an increase of $461 million compared to current funding budgets.
The allocation is part of $4.4 billion announced in this week’s federal budget for the nation-wide Roads to Recovery program over the next five years.
The government says it’s progressively doubling the program’s funding to $1 billion per year, starting in the next financial year with the aim of protecting critical road safety measures from what it’s described as the ‘uncertainty of budget cycles’.
Pot holes are to be filled, pavements repaired and culverts installed to improve drainage and keep roads open during bad weather as part of the program.
National local road budget breakdown
Elsewhere across the country, the funding is to be allocated as follows:
- $895 million for Victorian councils, an increase of $368 million;
- $895 million for Queensland councils, an increase of $353 million;
- $395 million for South Australian councils, an increase of $153 million;
- $643 million for Western Australian councils, an increase of $278 million;
- $143 million for Tasmanian councils, an increase of $60 million;
- $128 million for Northern Territory councils, an increase of $55 million;
- $70 million for councils in the The ACT, an increase of $30 million.
Other local road funding
The government says the increased funding is part of a series of changes aimed at strengthening investment in safer, more productive local roads across Australia.
Funding for the Black Spot Program is to increase from $110 million to $150 million per year.
A new Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program has $200m available per year, which the government says is $50 million more than what was available for two programs it has replaced.
A media release from the government on Wednesday said there was also $21.2 million in funding for the National Road Safety Data Hub, and $10.8 million for a National Road Safety and awareness campaign.
The release was a joint statement from federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King, and Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Minister Kristy McBain.
Wow, real informative news about regional Australia! If it wasn’t for regional independent news like the Echo and social media, we wouldn’t hear a word about any of the real infrastructure development and maintenance from the Federal and State Govt’s, are constantly getting on with.
All we seem to get in our MSM is this blanket 24/7 distraction of Dutton’s obstruction of anything and everything and his completely unquestioned almost goose-step like zero detail march, to some contrived fascist toxic nuclear dystopia?
Switch on our MSM anywhere anytime and all we get is the LNP opposition distraction gibberish, the MSM only constant, is the opposition talking, while really saying nothing?
The MSM must spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year drowning the media narrative in a sea of LNPee, you have to ask why and which billionaires are really paying for it?
Which many of us realise, it’s all basically just a distraction from the LNPee’s only real policy of “Mining more coal”!