New South Wales councils want the Baird Government’s 2016-17 State Budget to help reduce a big backlog of road renewal works.

Local Government NSW President Keith Rhoades says there is plenty of work to do.

“The NSW Government has largely maintained Regional Road Block Grant funding in real terms over recent years, and delivered a welcome 1.8 per cent funding increase in the 2015-16 State Budget,” Clr Rhoades said.

“LGNSW also welcomes and acknowledges the announcement last year of successful funding recipients for the first tranche of projects under the Fixing Country Roads program, and further commitments to a second round of funding.

“But unfortunately still more funding is required to address the road infrastructure renewal backlog.”

NSW councils are wholly responsible for managing more than 164,000 kilometres of local roads in NSW – about 90 per cent - and spend more than $1.2 billion of their own funds each year to maintain these roads.

However, the life cycle cost of the state’s entire local road system is estimated at $1.5 billion per year.

For regional roads and bridges partly funded by the NSW Government there is a life cycle funding gap of $89 million per year.

“It’s a significant funding gap, and as roads deteriorate the gap increases exponentially,” Clr Rhoades said.

“This is not a case of councils putting out the begging bowl; it is councils seeking to play their part in meeting the challenges faced by the entire state of NSW, by working with the State Government to support economic growth and resilience.

“Local government is keen to address the existing backlog and provide a local road network that is effective and efficient, not only for private and commercial travel, but the movement of goods.

“However until the limitations on councils’ source revenue are resolved, the majority of councils will remain dependent on intergovernmental funding transfers.

“This is particularly the case in rural and regional areas where the rating base is small.”

In its pre-Budget submission on behalf of the sector, LGNSW has called on the Baird Government to:

  • Increase Regional Road Block Grant funding to address the $89 million annual funding gap, and amend the funding formula to reflect annual increases in road construction and maintenance costs as shown by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Local Road Construction Cost Index
  • Provide additional funding assistance to strategically significant local road infrastructure on key freight corridors, via existing programs such as the Government’s successful Fixing Country Roads initiative
  • Provide additional funding for an increased number of bridges on local and regional roads managed by councils by partnering with the Federal Government’s recently-announced Bridges Renewal program.