More than 400 delegates from Councils across Australia attended the 7th National Local Roads and Transport Congress, held in Alice Springs from 10-11 July. Since its first meeting in Moree in 2000, the Congress has brought Local Government together to progress the case for better funding for the nation’s 680,000 kilometres of local road and related infrastructure. This $80 billion asset represents around 85 per cent of the national road network.
Held annually by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), the theme of this year’s conference was ‘Paving the Way – Driving the Roads and Transport Agenda’.
In his address, ALGA President, Councillor Paul Bell, said action was needed by all three spheres of government to address the transport problems confronting Australia’s 700 Local Government authorities and the communities they serve.
“This Congress is the forum that fights for the roads and transport needs of our communities and it has done so with significant success,” he said. “That success has been built on a tremendous partnership that has developed, and continues to develop, between the Australian Government and Local Government.”
He said that the Federal Government’s input into programs such as Roads to Recovery and the Auslink Strategic Regional Program is more than just funds.
“It shows the Australian Government’s faith in Local Government,” Paul Bell said. “This faith is the foundation for our future. We must not break it. We must make sure that the Roads to Recovery program continues to deliver for our residents, that it continues to be well run and well administered, and continues to have a high profile within our communities. We see Roads to Recovery as a model for other areas of Federal/Local Government collaboration.”
Paul Bell said that while Roads to Recovery is a critically important source of funding, there is still a shortfall of $404 million a year between what Councils can afford to invest in local roads and the funding needed to maintain them in a fit for purpose state.
The 2005 congress, held in Launceston, resolved that a strategy on future policies for roads and transport should be developed and presented to delegates at the 2006 conference. Therefore, forging the national strategy and securing positive outcomes formed a major focus for consideration at this year’s Congress.
The strategy is a first for Local Government. It provides a single document that sets out the national road and transport needs and priorities for communities across the country. Its five key areas are set out in the article below.
“The national roads and transport strategy seeks long term funding solutions for local roads,” Paul Bell said. “In particular, we are looking at ways of making the Federal Government’s $1.2 billion Roads to Recovery program a permanent feature of Federal/Local Government financial relations.
“The strategy is an important document for Local Government. It will take us beyond the influential Butcher Report and towards a plan that addresses our collective needs over the next ten to 20 years.”
