The Coalition has attacked the lack of urgency in addressing financial sustainability for Australia’s 537 local governments, as the Albanese Labor Government quietly reinstated a sustainability inquiry – something the Coalition has been calling for since early June.
Federal Member for Parkes Jamie Chaffey said the Albanese Labor Government has been very slow to reinstate the stalled Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport inquiry on local government sustainability.
“There are 20 Councils in the Parkes electorate and I am painfully aware of how urgent the situation is,” Mr Chaffey said.
“Local government provides some of the most critical of services to their communities. I have already spoken in Parliament a number of times about the massive impact of insufficient road funding both on an ongoing basis and following times of disaster. This is only one of the areas of cost-shifting, declining funding and prices hikes Councils are facing with very limited budgets.
“It’s been 19 months since Minister Catherine King said local government sustainability issues were ‘pressing’, and Labor have now finally resumed the inquiry with submissions closing next February,” Mr Chaffey said.
He said the Committee’s interim report in February 2025 had zero interim recommendations, and the new submission timeline means there’s no likelihood the Albanese Government will fund relief for councils in May’s 2026/27 budget – or even the 2027/28 budget.
“The Coalition-era Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program (LCRI) runs out of funding on 30 June,” Mr Chaffey said. “That is the end of the essential untied, unmatched funding for shires to spend where they need it most.
“Rural roads cover massive distances, and that funding is desperately needed to fix potholes, make roads safer and improve other necessary community infrastructure.”
Mr Chaffey said the Albanese Labor Government’s solution – reducing regional speed limits from 100 km an hour to as low as 70 km an hour – was an insult to regional people and businesses.
“Driving more slowly is not a fix for unsafe roads,” he said. “We will see more fatigue, more frustration, more costs and lower productivity.”
The Sustainability inquiry during the 47th Parliament received 287 submissions and had 15 days of public hearings, including in West Perth, Launceston, Wallan, Cairns and Beaudesert.
Submissions are open until 3 February and can be made at the Inquiry into Local Government Funding and Fiscal Sustainability homepage.
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