Australian Local Government Association

Contact:
Andy Hrast
Director, Transport Policy
ALGA
Phone: 02 6122 9432
andy.hrast@alga.asn.au

Communiqués

National Local Roads and Transport Congress

2 July 2003, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

More than 420 delegates from all states and territories attended the 4th National Local Roads Congress meeting in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, on June 30 - July 1, 2003.

2003 National Local Roads and Transport Congress

Local government owns and maintains 680,000 km of road (around 85 per cent of the national road network). It is an asset valued at $75 billion. This local road network is under increasing pressure with freight and passenger transport forecast to increase dramatically over the next decade. The Kalgoorlie Congress discussed a wide range of challenges and opportunities facing local government as it responds to these concerns.

The major issues addressed by the Congress were: the need to renew the Roads to Recovery Program, the proposal for a national land transport infrastructure program - AusLink, asset management, intelligent transport systems and heavy vehicle reforms.

Commonwealth Commitments

Delegates welcomed commitments made to the Congress by the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon John Anderson MP, that:

1. The Commonwealth's existing Roads to Recovery Program (R2R), the Black Spot Program and Financial Assistance Grants will be quarantined from the AusLink Program.
2. The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) should be a full signatory to the AusLink Intergovernmental Agreement.
3. The Commonwealth will initiate discussions on a local government capacity-building program for best practice data collection and asset management.

• acknowledged the extent of local government's commitment to the local road network, progress in asset management;
• welcomed ALGA's involvement with, and local government's participation in, the AusLink processes to date; and
• confirmed that AusLink will take into account existing regional transport planning mechanisms

Congress Resolutions

1. That this Congress re-affirms its total support for the continuation of the Commonwealth Roads to Recovery Program beyond 2005.
2. That funding for a renewed Roads to Recovery Program be doubled as concluded in the evaluation of the Program.
3. That funding for Roads to Recovery be fully indexed.
4. That the next Roads to Recovery Program must remain separate from AusLink funding and have the same criteria for funding as applies to the current program.
5. A renewed Roads to Recovery Program must be based on the following principles, as identified in the R2R evaluation:
   1. Determination of road priorities by the relevant local authority.
   2. Simple reporting mechanisms.
   3. Distribution of funds from the Commonwealth direct to local government.

Major Issues

• Delegates called on all major political parties to commit to the renewal of the R2R Program prior to the next Federal election.
• Delegates supported the ALGA campaign and called on councils throughout Australia to inform and gain the commitment of their local Federal members for the renewal of the Roads to Recovery program. Engaging community groups as advocates for R2R must be a core component of the campaign.
• Delegates strongly endorsed a unified approach to the campaign to secure the renewal of the Roads to Recovery Program, recognising the mutual benefits to metropolitan, regional and rural communities.
• Delegates affirmed the need to gain agreement on how the road system is defined and funded by all three spheres of government. Concern was expressed that under a national approach to land transport issues, as proposed under AusLink, local roads funding may be adversely affected by inconsistent definitions and terminology currently applied to the road system.
• Delegates resolved that AusLink must take into account existing integrated regional transport plans.
• Delegates called for the development of better local road data management systems across Australia to strengthen the case for local roads funding.
• Delegates expressed concern about the lack of data to adequately access the effects of performance-based standards for heavy vehicles (especially on bridges) and urged the National Road Transport Commission to address this issue as a matter of urgency.
• Delegates acknowledged the unique problems of security of access for many remote communities and the need to look at sealed road access.
• Delegates recognised the importance of community education in support of the role of transport in the national economy.
• Delegates encouraged broader participation in future roads Congresses by state governments, appropriate industry and community groups.

5th National Local Roads Congress, Barossa Valley

ALGA will convene the 5th National Local Roads Congress at Tanunda in the Barossa Valley in South Australia on 11-13 July, 2004.