Whilst I was sitting at the Roads Congress in Ballarat last month I couldn’t help thinking about the year of 2015 as it comes to a close.
Troy Pickard, President of the Australian Local Government
Association introduced the State of the Assets report and gave us some insight into the Local Government Community Infrastructure Program, with a focus on rural and regional areas. The proposal recommends $300 million per annum for five years to fund the renewal and maintenance of existing community infrastructure and promote economic development opportunities.
My thoughts turned to the rural and regional areas and I recalled an article in FOCUS on a local venture involving a group of women from a small community who began making teddy bears; their cottage business has grown into a viable entity and has made their town a tourist destination. But the businesses that don’t survive tell a
different story.
I recall articles FOCUS has run on the devastating drought in the north and the effect that it has had on the economies of rural regions. How local councils are trying not only to help their communities survive but to improve and develop.
The loss of the Financial Assistance Grant (FAG) has affected all communities; aging and outdated infrastructure will have to wait even longer for upgrade or replacement. Will the $300 million proposal make a dent in the problems facing rural and regional Councils? Does it make up for the FAG’s loss?
I don’t have a crystal ball and I don’t think the State and Federal Governments do either but I know that the rural communities think they are forgotten and many councils are striving against all odds to improve their communities and indeed survive.
Editors note: Tell us your story if you are a regional or rural Council.
