The Local Government Association of South Australia (LGA SA) is calling on the Federal Government to stand by its commitment to fair increases to local government funding ahead of tomorrow’s Budget.
Responding to Federal Labor’s election commitment to increase grant allocations for councils, including fair increases to Financial Assistance Grants, LGA SA President, Kimba District Council Mayor, Dean Johnson urged the Federal Government to keep its promise and provide financial support to councils.
“The last few years have been very challenging – local councils have been hit hard by inflation, rising costs and the effects of natural disasters,” Mayor Johnson said.
“The LGA is asking for a restoration of Federal Financial Assistance Grants, which have almost halved over the past three decades, to at least 1% of Commonwealth taxation revenue.
“These grants make up more than 20% of annual operating expenditure for around one in four Australian councils – they are a lifeline for the liveability and productivity of communities.”
He said Councils played a crucial role in providing essential services and community infrastructure at a local level.
“Funding programs go a long way, we’ve seen councils facilitate thousands of projects recently under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program – everything from new community centres and upgrades to sporting facilities, to the development of recreational trails, playgrounds and renewal of roads.”
“Cutting funding levels or changing eligibility to limit access under programs like this would only leave communities worse off in the long-term.
“Many council services help those already financially strained or vulnerable, including access to library services, home help for the elderly, and support for community groups.
“Alongside funding for community infrastructure programs, we’ve also asked the Federal Government to allocate additional road funding of $20 million each year to support the safety and productivity of our local road network.
“For many councils, maintaining roads is the single largest item of expenditure they have and in South Australia, we have 7% of Australia’s population and 11% of its local roads, but receive just 5.5 percent of the federal government’s local road funding under Financial Assistance Grants.
“We need the Federal Government to stand by their commitment during the election and ensure the Budget doesn’t leave South Australian communities behind,” the Mayor said.