Australian Local Government Association

22 August 2005

Chapter 7: Infrastructure

Contents of this page

• 7.1 Infrastructure
• 7.2 Roads and Transport
• 7.3 Demographics

7.1 Infrastructure

Whilst the provision of infrastructure is generally beyond the scope of this paper, some aspects do have a critical impact on the environment in coastal regions, in particular infrastructure around the water cycle. Some issues are discussed here, but it is by no means an exhaustive list. Human services are included due to the large impact they have on council budgets and the increasing expectation for local government to provide such services, particularly in coastal areas.

Councils are required to maintain and upgrade large amounts of infrastructure. The pressure on this infrastructure increases as population and tourist numbers increase. It is local residents who pay for much of the infrastructure through council rates, with councils unable to extract any funding from tourists to the region. For instance, Byron Shire Council attracts 1.75m visitors a year, yet only base population of 30 000 residents. It is beyond the council alone to manage the pressure this places on infrastructure and resources in the shire.

7.2 Roads and transport

Transport services and infrastructure in coastal regions have not generally kept pace with the rapid growth these regions have experienced, nor with the expectations of the more diverse and ageing populations that the growth has attracted.

More often then not, these areas are also located on inter-state transport corridors, causing conflicts between local and through traffic. Much of the infrastructure adequately caters for local community requirements but is placed under considerable stress at seasonal highs and through rapid population growth. Much of the development taking place in coastal areas requires an increase in freight movement, which means that heavy trucks are mixing with local traffic and tourist traffic.

Further, ageing populations need to have access to facilities that are not sometimes locally available. Many have to travel substantial distances to access specialist medical facilities and their preferences or capacities generate the need for rail and other alternative transport services. State governments are sometimes reluctant to provide these alternatives or can only seem to do so at a loss or at poor levels of service.

The vitality of these regions is inextricably linked to the quality of their local road networks and to the quality of the major arterials connecting them to other major concentrations of population, particularly the state capital cities. Coastal regions will typically attract higher numbers of tourists when the roads leading to them are duplicated and become safer and offer faster travel times. These roads can still become heavily congested at particular times and can attract higher volumes of through traffic when they offer better travel times and fuel savings over alternative routes. The improvement of the Pacific Highway in NSW is one such instance but this was only accomplished when the Commonwealth and State governments joined together to fund its improvement. The highway continues to remain hazardous because it now offers a range of conditions from an excellent freeway facility in some sections to very poor capacity and alignment on other sections.

Local roads are owned and maintained by local government who continue to battle for recognition in terms of the immensity of the task they are required to address. This situation is compounded for coastal communities who cater for tourists who make little or no direct contribution to local infrastructure. Local government has limited means to levy user charges on tourists, even in instances where there is a good economic case for doing so, and there may in fact be a considerable willingness and capacity to pay.

Funding available to local government has not kept pace with the cost of maintaining roads. This is particularly the case in coastal areas where growth has been substantial and where expenditure needs and community expectations have resulted in the diversion of funds away from road maintenance. Much of the local road network in these areas was designed for much smaller populations and the roads are narrow and thinly paved. They are no longer suitable for the traffic loads they are now servicing. The capacity of local road networks is also often inhibited by old and narrow bridges that are expensive to replace. In addition, many councils in coastal areas have to cope with flood prone roadways which add an extra dimension to the task.

Options

While the Federal Government's 'Roads to Recovery' program provides around $300m a year to local government, augmenting local road spending of around $2.7bn a year, there is still a serious shortfall in local road capital and maintenance needs - and this is especially severe in coastal growth areas. Local government has asked the Commonwealth to ensure that the states maintain their level of road funding commitment, ensuring that Auslink, including the Roads to Recovery program, delivers a net improvement in the road network.

Given their particular needs, councils serving coastal growth areas are well placed to jointly identify and submit projects to be funded from the strategic component of Roads to Recovery (R2R). Representations have been made to the Federal Government to ensure that these funds are applied on a transparent and objective basis - this being the case high growth regions are well paced to meet the criteria for funding.

Auslink has the potential to serve coastal areas well given that the essence of the program is to improve local road networks based on need, and to meet the total transport needs of our major corridors. Despite this, some of this roads funding is provided on a per capita formula, which does not allow for tourist flows. The R2R guidelines urge councils to cooperate to enable larger projects to be implemented on key interregional road links. If coastal councils are prepared to make the most of the regional perspective inherent in the Auslink program then opportunities may be offered in the future under the regional component of the program.

Issue

Inadequate transport infrastructure

Pressure

Coastal areas developed rapidly, transport infrastructure has not kept pace. There is a backlog of warranted works

Current situation

Roads to Recovery program has been very successful in partially addressing this issue

Outcome

An efficient, well maintained transport network

Action

What improvements could be made through a regional roads strategy that increases opportunities for further funding? What partnerships do you have with other councils?

7.3 Demographics

Seniors are a significant and growing part of local communities. As shown in Table 1, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over (seniors) has increased substantially in all regions over the last 20 years. In 2001, the highest concentrations of seniors were in non-urban and urban coastal regions and metropolitan inner suburbs. This was closely followed by both inland rural and urban regions. Population ageing was less evident in metropolitan outer suburbs and both remote other and remote urban regions.

Population ageing will impact on planning and service delivery, spelling real and growing challenges for Australia's 673 local government authorities.

The Productivity Commission, in its research study - Economic implications of an Ageing Australia, concluded that with the delivery of human services now representing 49% of total local government expenditure, local councils are more likely to face budgetary pressures from population ageing than from traditional activities such as road and infrastructure provision and maintenance. The main demands are expected to be: health and aged care, home support services, subsidy of medical services, community transport and a range of cultural and recreation services.

At the same time, local government faces potentially significant demands on revenue. The Productivity Commission (PC) report found that:

• there is likely to be an emerging fiscal deficit at the local government level under current policy settings;
• local government rate revenue will come under pressure from the increasing proportion of pensioner households; and
• local government revenue is unlikely to increase at a greater rate than the growth in GDP, and some components such as financial assistance grants will grow at slower rates.

The PC also found that much of local government will face increasing pressure relating to the suitability of infrastructure, a great deal of which was constructed without particular consideration for ageing populations. Many coastal communities do not currently have adequate infrastructure in place. Street lighting, footpaths, kerbs and sanitation services are important infrastructure considerations for older people's health and well being. It is likely that local government will face increasing community expectations of high standard amenities, such as car parking, public seating and public toilets.

Moreover, the PC estimates that nationally, the number of people in high and low care residential aged care is likely to increase by 78 per cent by 2024-25 and over 200 per cent by 2044-45. This is likely to be higher in coastal areas where positive net migration of older persons occurs. Migration is likely to pose problems for councils in designating sufficient land for new developments in a timely fashion and ensuring that new facilities are integrated with existing service delivery.

Issues

All spheres of government need to be better coordinated to ensure the adequate provision of health infrastructure in high growth coastal areas. This is particularly an issue where the community is facing net migration of older people or where high tourism numbers at certain times of the year result in local residents not having adequate access to their health facilities.

The pressure on health and aged services is likely to increase dramatically in coming years. All spheres of government must work together to ensure there is adequate infrastructure and service provision in high growth coastal areas.

Local government is uniquely positioned to have a positive impact on the growing older population. Local government:

• has an intimate knowledge of the local community and the diversity of older people;
• ensures the physical, social and economic environment of the local community is conducive to the overall wellbeing of older people;
• provides services and programs that are flexible and locally appropriate to the needs of older people;
• enables community participation in local decision-making and supports the development of community networks; and
• is a strong advocate on behalf of the local community with other government and non-government organisations.

These community-focused roles clearly entrench local government's relationship with older people in the community and place it in a unique position to recognise, understand and respond to the needs of the growing older population.

Issue

An ageing population

Pressure

Many retired people are migrating to coastal areas. This is likely to have significant fiscal and planning implications for councils

Current situation

There is a shortage of suitable infrastructure and services available to the ageing population and councils are increasingly being asked to take a lead role

Outcome

Age-friendly communities

Action

Has your council started to plan for an ageing community?