At the Rural Councils Victoria Annual Forum in Swan Hill last Friday, the Coalition announced a commitment to restore the Country Roads and Bridges Program if elected at the November State Election.
Mayor Cr Jodie Ashworth welcomed the commitment.
The upgraded $288 million program would see each of Victoria's 48 rural and regional councils receive $1.5 million in untied funding a year for four years. This will provide councils with funding certainty and allow them to determine which road and bridge projects are the highest priority in theircommunities, rather than forcing them to compete for limited funding through a complex grants process.
“It’s programs like the Country Roads and Bridges Program that make a significant difference to the lives of rural and regional people. Previous programs like this have supported our wooden bridge replacement program – 153 replaced in the past nine years – and complete road and drainage works across the shire that keep communities and industry moving through improved resilience to fire and flood and increased load limits,” Cr Ashworth said.
“Likewise, our annual road reseal program and maintenance work can benefit from certainty of guaranteed funding.”
Council calls for bi-partisan support for this or a matching program that would further strengthen regional and rural councils’ ability to plan and fund road and bridge maintenance works.
“We have long advocated for better investment in roads and bridges across both State and Commonwealth governments, and also for non-competitive grant streams,” Cr Ashworth said.