The failing road network on the Mid-North Coast was raised in parliament on Monday in an effort to highlight the road funding crisis facing local government authorities throughout Australia.
Independent Lyne MP Rob Oakeshott is seeking the parliament’s support for an annual fixed percentage of GST revenue to be allocated directly to the nation’s 562 local councils.
“The main purpose of this motion is to make sure that the interests of local ratepayers are not lost in the debate about Constitutional Recognition of Local Government,” Mr Oakeshott said.
“This motion is about challenging the major parties to acknowledge the relative priority of local roads and to stop claiming that there is some legal ambiguity preventing that from happening.
“The current GST Review can, and needs to, consider direct funding to local government now.”
Mr Oakeshott said Greater Taree City Council had a $250 million backlog on local road maintenance, primarily because its annual roads maintenance program required $27 million a year, every year, and yet it only had $10 million a year at most to spend on roads.
“With 90 per cent of roads in the Manning the responsibility of the local council, it’s not surprising the road network is failing,” Mr Oakeshott said.
“We need to break the nexus between the states saying that local roads are a local government responsibility, but taking the bulk of the available funding for its own purposes – it’s been going on for too long,” he said.
