THE NSW Government has been asked to commit $50 million to fix Dungog Shire roads to match $50 million announced by the government last week for roads in neighbouring MidCoast Council.
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Country Labor candidate for Upper Hunter, Martin Rush, said Dungog’s roads were among the worst in NSW. It was “only fair” for the government to support the much smaller council which has an extensive road network of more than 600 kilometres to maintain, and only a limited rates base to fund it, Mr Rush said.
At a meeting on Monday Dungog Council was expected to discuss MidCoast Council’s use of a special rates variation to help raise $50 million and attract $50 million in matching state funds.
Dungog mayor Tracy Norman said the council would “obviously be negotiating harder” with the NSW Government to secure increased roads funding after the MidCoast Council announcement. Ms Norman said she had invited NSW Roads Minister Melinda Pavey to visit and inspect some of the most visible examples of the roads and timber bridges backlog.
The council’s recently-released Community Strategic Plan 2030 outlined a $43 million infrastructure backlog, including $23 million needed for timber bridges. The council expects to collect just $5.67 million in general rates in 2018/19 from 4900 rateable properties. The shire has a population of 9000.
Mr Rush said the state of Dungog’s roads and bridges was a safety issue that the NSW Government needed to help the council address.
On Monday Shadow Roads Minister Jodi McKay raised Dungog roads funding as an example of inequities within existing government road funding arrangements.
Ms McKay told the NSW Local Roads Congress that a NSW Labor Government would review how federal road funds are allocated by the NSW Government to local councils.
”Dungog Shire has 602 kilometres of roads but received $880,000 in federal assistance grants last year while the richest council in NSW, Sydney City, with only 300 kilometres of roads, received $1.26 million,” Ms McKay said.
“The current formula works against councils with smaller populations and larger road networks. Labor wants to see smaller country councils get a fair go when it comes to the allocation of federal roads money.”
The current funding formula determined by the NSW Government, and based on length of road and population, “generally places country councils with smaller populations but significant road networks at a distinct disadvantage”, Ms McKay said.
Mr Rush said the existing formula particularly disadvantaged smaller councils because it was based on a five year average of actual expenditure but not of what should be spent.
“One consequence of this is that rural road funding as a proportion of overall road funding has diminished over the last seven years across the State as rural councils do not have the appropriate resources to fund what is actually needed,” Mr Rush said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Nationals Myall Lakes MP Stephen Bromhead announced the $50 million for MidCoast Council during a Cabinet meeting in Forster last week.
MidCoast Council mayor David West said the combined $100 million roads package for 25 individual projects was a “game changer” directly linked to the amalgamation of smaller councils in the region.
