A multi-billion dollar emergency package has been requested to fix rural roads
An alliance of the country’s top agricultural and transport industry bodies and government associations is calling for over $5 billion in emergency funding to fix Australia’s rural roads in the upcoming Federal Budget.
The Rural Road Alliance says an emergency funding package totalling nearly $5.5 billion is required to fix the road network, which has been subjected to critical challenges in the form of flooding and high rainfall over the past year.
The Alliance includes GrainGrowers, the National Farmers Federation (NFF), Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) and was formed in response to the challenges Australia’s faced by rural industries.
The Alliance has called on the Albanese Government to help fix the problems.
“We’re looking for a substantial, long-term commitment. We can’t be left driving on decimated roads once the politicians and news cameras move onto the next disaster,” says NFF chief executive Tony Mahar.
In the lead up to the 2023-24 Federal Budget, the Alliance is calling for:
• A one-off injection of $1 billion over four years directed at regional road and infrastructure reconstruction for councils impacted by flooding and other natural disasters to ensure the rebuild is to a standard more resilient to future disaster events;
• $800 million a year over four years for the Roads to Recovery Program;
• $300 million a year over four years to address first and last mile freight productivity; and
• targeted funding through the Roads of Strategic Importance program to improve the long-term climate resilience of freight networks.
The Alliance says the proposed funding package is an opportunity for the Federal Government to stem the deterioration of the national rural road network while futureproofing the network for future climate events.
In 2022, natural disasters and extreme weather events have already cost the Australian economy $5 billion as a result of widespread disruptions to industries such as agriculture, according to Treasury estimates.
That year saw 23 flood events occur, including 429 emergency declarations across 277 local government areas.
Ongoing flooding saw more than 82,000km of road impacted by flood-related closures across much of the country, including major transport roads such as Hume, Newell, Calder and Western Highways.
“We’re already seeing recently repaired roads crumbling. It’s thrown a challenging grain harvest into disarray as farmers and transporters struggle to move grain from paddock to port,” says GrainGrowers chair Rhys Turton.
ALRTA executive director Mat Munro says existing damage is undermining productivity and safety in affected regions.
“Severely damaged roads are dramatically increasing the time and cost of moving freight to and from our rural production centres,” he says.
“It’s harder on our vehicles, it’s harder on our drivers, and it’s harder on our livestock. It’s holding back development of our regional communities and undermining safety and welfare for all users of country roads.”