Fact sheet 3: Road funding
The Budget reflects the Australian Government's commitment to extending the Roads to Recovery (R2R) program. $300m is provided in 2005-06 for allocation directly to councils, with shares being based on the 2004-05 assessments made by the Local Government Grants Commissions. There have been some significant variations in individual councils' shares compared to the previous R2R program - especially in Victoria.
The Commonwealth also provides identified local road grants via Financial Assistance Grants to local government (See Fact Sheet 2).
Tables 6.1 - 6.3 outline total road funding (with and without identified local road grants). A summary of R2R funding for 2005-06 is at Table 6.4.
The AusLink Strategic Regional Program will receive $33.1m in 2005-06, and local roads in unincorporated areas in New South Wales, South Australia and Northern Territory will get $7.5m. No details are available on allocation of the remaining strategic funds (about $26m) with Minister Anderson indicating only that "they will be allocated on a competitive basis".
The federal Black Spot program has been extended until June 2008, with funding of $45m a year until then.
| Funding | 2004-05 $m | 2005-06 $m | 2006-07 $m | 2007-08 $m | 2008-09 $m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1682 | 1670 | 2015 | 2163 | 2021 |
| Auslink | 1265 | 1225 | 1562 | 1732 | 1635 |
| Roads to Recovery | 259 | 341 | 343 | 330 | 330 |
| Black Spots | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 0 |
| Other | 113 | 59 | 65 | 56 | 56 |
| 2004-05 $m | 2005-06 $m | 2006-07 $m | 2007-08 $m | 2008-09 $m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 473.4 | 500 | 519.5 | 534.5 | 554.5 |
| Commonwealth road funding | 2004-05 $m | 2005-06 $m | 2006-07 $m | 2007-08 $m | 2008-09 $m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2155.4 | 2170 | 2534.5 | 2697.5 | 2575.5 |
| Auslink | 1682 | 1670 | 2015 | 2163 | 2021 |
| Identified local roads grants | 473.4 | 500 | 519.5 | 534.5 | 554.5 |
| State | Local councils $m | Strategic regional $m | Remote1 $m | Total $m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 300 | 33 | 7.5 | 340.5 |
| New South Wales | 85 | 16.2 | 0.6 | 101.8 |
| Victoria2 | 62.5 | 6.6 | 0 | 69.1 |
| Queensland3 | 62.5 | 2.9 | 0 | 65.4 |
| Western Australia3 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 46 |
| South Australia | 25 | 0 | 2.7 | 27.7 |
| Tasmania | 10 | 5.3 | 0 | 15.3 |
| Northern Territory3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| ACT | 5 | 0 | - | 5 |
| IOTs | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
- Unincorporated areas
- Victoria will receive $16,000 in 2005-06 for unincorporated areas
- The strategic regional figures for Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory each include an allocation of $1m for the Outback Highway. The final distribution of funds for the highway will be determined in consultation with the Outback Highway Development Council, local authorities and the state and territory governments.
Other transport initiatives include the extension of the subsidy for enroute air traffic control charges for small airlines, at a cost of $5.6m in 2005-06.
