Extra funding for local roads across Wide Bay
25th June, 2015
Local roads and streets in Wide Bay will receive a major boost, with $1.105 billion extra being made available to councils across Australia for vital local road upgrades over the next two years, through the Roads to Recovery Programme.
Federal Member for Wide Bay and Minister for Infrastructure Warren Truss, said the extra money will flow as a result of the passage through Federal Parliament of the fuel excise indexation legislation.
“Every cent of the extra $23 billion revenue raised through the excise over the next decade and beyond will be invested in delivering better road infrastructure. This new money means that councils and residents in Wide Bay will see more improvements to local roads,”
“The extra funding will increase Federal Government funding for Roads to Recovery from $700 million to $1 billion in 2015-16 and from $350 million to $1.155 billion in 2016-17,” Mr Truss said.
“People in communities across Wide Bay understand the importance of building and maintaining roads “ they are important to every aspect of life in regional areas.
“The Australian Government’s extra funding of $41,690,395 to local councils in Wide Bay over the next two years means they can now invest in more of the road upgrades we need.
“The extra R2R funding will deliver tangible benefits to make our roads and streets safer and more reliable.”
New Total R2R allocation for Wide Bay councils: (2014-15 to 18-19)
Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council: $254,143
Fraser Coast Regional Council: $15,201,370
Gympie Regional Council: $8,611,606
Noosa Council: $5,069,189
South Burnett Regional Council: $10,462,897
Sunshine Coast Regional Council: $22,406,162
Wide Bay Total: $62,005,367
Mr Truss said the Roads to Recovery Programme has been a popular initiative since the Coalition Government introduced it in 2001.
“This is a massive boost in funding for our region’s road network and I am looking forward to seeing the additional opportunities this decision will create for our councils,” Mr Truss said.
“Over its almost 15 year history, Roads to Recovery has funded the repair and upgrade of more than 45,000 local streets and roads across Australia, the largest investment in Australia's local roads ever undertaken. This includes scores of road and street projects in the Wide Bay electorate.”
The extra $1.105 billion being pumped into Roads to Recovery will be paid to councils under the usual formula as part of their regular quarterly payments without any requirement for councils to match the extra money.
