LGANT President Damien Ryan has welcomed the $33.2 million of untied federal funding for local government in the Northern Territory as part of the fourth quarterly round of payments under the Financial Assistance Grants programme.
“This money is much needed by local government and is in two components – $16.6 million for general purpose and $16.5 million for roads.
“Financial Assistance Grants are untied so this money can go towards delivering a range of projects that are identified as priorities to local needs.
“For one community it could mean going towards a swimming pool or a community hall, for another it might mean upgrading a park, it’s no strings attached, it’s for the benefit of the community.”
Despite welcoming the payment of these funds, President Ryan said he was disappointed the government had not ceased the indexation of the grant.
“Unfortunately, the freeze on indexation of the grants still remains.
“The decision to freeze indexation of Financial Assistance Grants in the May 2014 Budget for three years means approximately $3 million stripped from local government in the NT by 2017-2018.”
“These grants are a vital part of the revenue base of all councils and they are used to help fund essential local services and infrastructure.”
“An example of that is at MacDonnell Regional Council where it is reviewing and needing to reduce its levels of service in areas such as waste management due to operational costs continuing to rise.”
President Ryan said local governments across Australia are calling on the government to lift the freeze on indexation as the extra funds are greatly needed to go towards local infrastructure, services and facilities.
