Upper Hunter Shire Mayor Maurice Collison has been left frustrated, saying regional communities continue to be overlooked when it comes to federal funding support.
Speaking after members of the Council attended a local government conference, Collison highlighted two significant concerns.
The first was the ongoing push to increase federal financial assistance grants from 0.5 per cent to one per cent of Commonwealth taxation revenue, a change that would deliver $3.5 billion nationally and provide a substantial boost to smaller councils struggling to maintain roads and essential services.
“Do they really care about us back here in the bush?” he said.
“If we could just get our fair bite of that pie for the Upper Hunter Shire, we could spend some more money on roads, and bring it back up to our standards instead of expecting our ratepayers to cop everything that we get caught with.”
The second issue was more immediate. Collison said Councillor McPhee General Manager Greg McDonald met with Infrastructure Minister Catherine King during the conference and were told National Water Grid funding remained in place for the Upper Hunter. On returning home, however, the council found the funding had been withdrawn.
“Water and sewer wear out. If someone’s not going to help us in renewing and keeping it up to scratch, someone’s got to pay and that’s going to be the users,” he said.
Collison said the experience highlighted a pattern he had observed across years of engagement with politicians on regional funding issues.
“About the only time you get any promises is around election time,” he said.
