Local Government welcomes PM's infrastructure announcement
August 21, 2007
The President of the Australian Local Government Association, Cr Paul Bell, has welcomed the new proposal by the Prime Minister, John Howard, for a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure investment fund.
"Investment in community facilities is overdue," he said. "This sounds pretty good to us."
Cr Bell said that across Australia there was an infrastructure backlog of $14.5b as identified by the recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report into local government financing.
"Local community centres, libraries, swimming pools, ovals, walking tracks, and council-run meals on wheels kitchens are desperately in need of upgrading," he said. "We've been lobbying the Coalition and Labor since the end of 2006 in relation to a local government infrastructure fund and looking for around $1 billion - $1.5 billion in that fund over the next four years."
Media reports indicate that the Prime Minister would use the fund to fund projects such as libraries and sporting facilities.
"I will be seeking more detail from the Prime Minister and Local Government Minister on how this fund would operate, but it seems to strongly resemble the Local Community Infrastructure Renewals Fund we have been advocating," Cr Bell said.
Cr Bell welcomed the general thrust of the Prime Minister's address to the Millennium Forum yesterday where he supported localism as a key element in federalism. "The Prime Minister has correctly pointed out that many services are best delivered at the grass-roots levels," he said. "Local government is the closest sphere of government to communities and we have proved we can deliver efficient, targeted services through programs such as Roads to Recovery and the myriad of aged and health care services provided by councils."
- Contact
- Amanda Lynch, Director Government and Media Relations, ALGA - 0419 123 862 / 02 6122 9434
- * The PricewaterhouseCoopers report on local government financing is available on the ALGA website: www.alga.asn.au
