Monday, February 10, 2025

New report puts billion-dollar price on potholes problem

A new independent Grattan Institute report has suggested Federal funding to Australian councils for local road infrastructure should be increased by $1 billion annually.

The Institute’sĀ Potholes and pitfalls: how to fix local roadsĀ report recommends increasing federal Financial Assistance Grants to councils by $600 million per year, as well as Roads to Recovery funding by $400 million per year, with both Federal programs to be indexed annually.

Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) President, City of Sydney Councillor Linda Scott said the Federal Governmentā€™s Infrastructure Investment Program (IIP) review provided an ideal opportunity to address the Grattan Instituteā€™s recommendations and support councils to deliver safer and more productive roads.

ā€œWith the Government looking at our future infrastructure investment pipeline and projects, itā€™s important this review also considers how we maintain our existing assets,ā€ President Scott said.

ā€œAustralian councils manage almost 680,000km of local roads while collecting less than four percent of taxation.

ā€œLocal roads are a critical part of our national road network, so we need an urgent national funding solution.ā€

President Scott said ALGA had consistently advocated for Financial Assistance Grants to be restored to at least 1% of Commonwealth taxation revenue, and for an increaseĀ in Roads to Recovery funding.

ā€œThis new Grattan Institute research shows federal funding programs arenā€™t keeping up with the soaring costs of constructing and maintaining roads,” she said.

ā€œMore funding for road maintenance will also mean safer roads and will help reduce our unacceptably high national road toll, especially in rural and regional areas.

ā€œWithout urgent funding, the state of our roads will continue to decline and only get more expensive to fix.ā€

The Grattan Instituteā€™s report also highlighted the impact of increased road use ā€“ by passenger and freight vehicles ā€“ on Australian roads, recommending a $200 million per year fund to help assess and upgrade local roads identified as key freight routes.

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