The Hon. Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Media Release, 23 May 2023
The Albanese Government’s review of the Infrastructure Investment Program will consider how the Commonwealth can further support local councils through much needed road funding programs such as Roads to Recovery Program and Black Spot Program.
We know how important these programs are to local communities, especially in our regions, and the Government is committed to ensuring these programs continue to deliver for communities in the best way possible over the long term.
It is outright scaremongering to suggest that the future of long-standing programs is in jeopardy because the Government is looking to see what improvements could be made to provide more flexibility to local councils and lessen any unnecessary administrative burden.
Regional communities deserve better than being subject to a fear campaign by the Coalition about important road programs.
We ensured the continuity of these sub-programs by providing $760 million this financial year in the 2023-24 Budget for:
- Roads to Recovery Program;
- Black Spot Program;
- Bridges Renewal Program; and
- Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program.
We also want to make sure that Government funding is delivering more resilient infrastructure.
It is surprising the Liberal and National parties do not support this given the damage done to ageing road infrastructure during recent floods, especially in regional and remote areas.
It is also surprising the Coalition would not support helping local councils deliver programs to their local communities in a more efficient and effective way.
After ten years of mismanagement of the infrastructure pipeline, and putting political priorities above deliverability, it is time for the Albanese Government to fix the mess we were left. We are undertaking a short and genuine review, as supported by the states and territories at National Cabinet in late April.
The outcome will be a manageable pipeline where the shared priorities of the Commonwealth, States, Territories and local government can be delivered in a way that eases pressure on costs and leaves room to deal with new challenges.
