A New South Wales Government plan to resume responsibility for 400 kilometres of local roads – less than three percent of the promised 15,000 – was a massive disappointment for local government, according to Local Government New South Wales (LGNSW).
LGNSW President, Linda Scott said councils had been eagerly awaiting the first steps towards the takeback promised by the State Government at the 2019 State election.
“Almost 120 councils across New South Wales applied for priority road takebacks, but only five applications – representing just over 391 kilometres of road – met the Government’s criteria.
“This falls woefully short of what we were hoping for.
“This outcome also raises real concerns about the Government’s subsequent commitment to help councils maintain local jobs by awarding Road Maintenance Council Contracts (RMCC) to them.
“These contracts are vitally important to ensure councils are not financially worse off under road takebacks and, equally importantly, not forced to lay off road maintenance workers under new arrangements.”
Cr Scott said LGNSW would be seeking assurances from the Government that councils would not be worse off under road reclassification and takeback arrangements, and that council jobs were protected in the process.
Her comments follow the NSW Government’s release of the Independent Panel’s Interim Report into road classification and the transfer of regional roads to state ownership, including recommendations for a Priority Round of transfers and reclassifications.
“I am hopeful that when the Government’s full round of applications for road takeback open at the end of this month, we will start to see faster progress along with the guarantees we seek around maintenance contracts to ensure communities are not worse off and local jobs are protected.”
