AusLink-the National Transport Plan – is transforming the way governments at all levels plan, fund and deliver major road and rail systems infrastructure. After increasing its funding assistance to Local Government 70 per cent since 1996, the Australian Government has begun forging a new partnership with Councils to rebuild transport infrastructure supporting our city and regional economies.
Australia’s international competitiveness depends on high quality transport infrastructure that is cost effective and operationally efficient. With our population centres separated by vast distances, effective transport is also critical to providing socially just and environmentally sustainable communities. To meet the challenges of distance and a doubling of the freight in the first two decades of the millennium, the Australian Government is working with other spheres of government, industry and transport stakeholders to plan, fund and implement effective road and rail land transport solutions. AusLink, the National Transport Plan, has laid the foundations for a sustained boost in the levels of Australian Government expenditure on the transport infrastructure necessary for our nation to prosper.
A network of national roads and mainline railways connecting ‘inland ports’, railheads and rural manufacturing centres with cities and coastal ports – and the efficient operation of heavy transport vehicles between them – lies at the heart of the Australian Government’s land transport strategy. All States and Territories have signed bilateral agreements that will see the Australian Government spend $15 billion on transport infrastructure during the first five years of AusLink, supported by billions more from other levels of government. It is a holistic solution. Supporting and developing Australia’s regions is a key government priority, both from an economic and social perspective.
Regional industries, such as agriculture, the resources sector, business services and tourism play a fundamental role producing national wealth and supporting a high standard of living. Because Local Government is the custodian for urban form and lifestyle, and also the level of government most in touch with issues of significance to communities and neighbourhoods, the Australian Government has resolved to work with Councils to improve local transport infrastructure. Within the umbrella of AusLink, the Australian Government has committed $2 billion to local road improvements during the five years to June 2009. This comprises $1.48 billion for AusLink Roads to Recovery, the $307.5 million supplementary payment and $220 million under AusLink’s Strategic Regional Program. Hundreds of millions of dollars more are made available each year through Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) for roads.
AusLink’s Roads to Recovery Program
The Roads to Recovery program began in January 2001 and provided $1.2 billion in Australian Government funding to Local Government for roads over the period to 30 June 2005. In January 2004, the Australian Government announced that a further $1.2 billion would be allocated over the four years from July 2005 to June 2009.
The division of funds between the Councils within each State and the Northern Territory is based on the recommendations of the Local Government Grants Commissions in each jurisdiction. The Australian Government believes that Local Government is best placed to decide the projects on which Roads to Recovery funds are spent.
Historically, almost a third of the projects involve the reconstruction, rehabilitation and widening of roads. Sealing and resealing account for a further third of projects. The number of projects involving sheeting and re-sheeting of gravel roads with a new surface is also significant. With an acceptance of a partnership with the Australian Government in implementing its AusLink Programs comes the responsibility of accountability for spending the considerable sums involved. An Australian National Audit Office review of the Roads to Recovery Program found that the Department of Transport and Regional Services had handled its administration fairly well.
A contemporaneous audit of 93 Councils nationwide implied that some Councils have been cost shifting and not sticking to the program requirements that they maintain their historic spending on roads and not use Federal funds to replace Local Government money for roads. To avoid the perception of cost shifting in administering the Roads to Recovery Program, the Australian Government has asked Councils to provide information about their own sources of road funding as part of annual reporting requirements for acquitting the Australian Government funds.
AusLink’s Strategic Regional Program
Regional roads are often the ‘missing links’ between local roads and the broader highway network. They deserve greater priority because of their importance to the economic and social fabric of regional areas. Australian Government funding under the AusLink Strategic Regional Program will help improve many regional connectors to the defined interstate AusLink National Land Transport Network and fulfil one of the AusLink objectives of a holistic solution to Australia’s transport needs, involving all levels of government.
Successful applicants have until the first half of 2009 to complete approved projects. See article on page 1 for more details.
Financial Assistance Grants to Councils
Since 1974 the Australian Government has distributed around $27.5 billion in FAGs to Councils. They are provided as two components – general purpose and local roads. Both components are untied in the hands of Local Government, allowing Councils to spend the money according to local priorities.
In 2006-07, 700 Local Governments across Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory, are receiving $1,684 million in FAGs, comprising $1166 million in general purpose grants and $518 million in local road grants. The 2007-08 estimated grant entitlement is expected to be around $1,740 million.
The quantum of the grants pool changes annually in line with changes in population and the Consumer Price Index, so as to maintain their real per capita value. The annual amount of these grants has increased by around 45 per cent, or $520 million, since 1996.
The future
Already, substantial work has begun on planning the elements of AusLink beyond 2009. By then, the transport task will be more complex as traffic volumes rise, social and environmental costs of transport infrastructure increase, and Australia’s changing population trends add more pressure to urban and regional rail and road links. To fulfil its long term vision for the National Transport Plan and to ensure that it meets future transport demand, the AusLink strategy identifies development of corridor strategies – cooperative long term plans for each transport link that will identify transport needs within a corridor and the priorities for meeting those needs. They will provide a basis for making decisions on future project planning and construction timeframes.
As it pursues and refines its roads strategies into the future, the Australian Government will explore these fundamentals:
- how the three levels of government can improve cooperation to more effectively manage and develop roads as a national network to serve user needs over the longer term
- how regional transport planning could improve to benefit regional development and the role that local Councils might best play in this planning
- how the transport infrastructure needs of urban areas and Australia’s diverse regions should be balanced.
