Upper Hunter Shire Council is campaigning for a fairer share of federal road funding, highlighting a major gap between what metropolitan and regional councils receive per kilometre of road.
According to Council, the Australian Government provides billions of dollars each year to local councils through the Financial Assistance Grant program, including funding associated with local roads. However, that funding does not come directly to individual councils – it is provided to the states, with allocations to NSW councils determined through the NSW Local Government Grants Commission process.
Figures show Sydney receives $5,780 per kilometre of road, compared with $4,369 in North Sydney, $3,877 in Willoughby, $2,876 in Lake Macquarie, $2,699 in Maitland, and just $1,629 in the Upper Hunter Shire.
Council says the pattern is clear: the further a community is from Sydney, the less funding it receives per kilometre of road, despite a kilometre of road in the Upper Hunter requiring similar materials, drainage, machinery, fuel and skilled workers to maintain.
Council says its roads connect farms to markets, workers to jobs, children to schools and communities to essential services, carrying agricultural produce, livestock, freight and resources that contribute significantly to the state and national economy. With a Shire covering more than 8,000 square kilometres, Council says those kilometres add up quickly.
