The launch of ALGA's Community Infrastructure Ideas Register (CIIR) has seen a strong response from councils. We've already received more than 100 examples of declining community infrastructure in need of replacement, maintenance or upgrades, and we're calling for more examples from councils.
The response we've seen goes to show the critical need for more to be done to support local government in delivering adequate and appropriate community infrastructure and highlights local government's broader challenge of meeting the backlog and underspend in community infrastructure that has accumulated over the years.
Appropriately maintaining community infrastructure needs millions of dollars of investment and councils need more support to do this. The impact of under-funding goes beyond the degradation of our important community infrastructure, it also limits the capacity of local councils to develop communities and contribute to local and regional development.
The Australian Government's Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program made an important contribution in 2008-10 in assisting councils to meet the decades-long backlog and underspend on community infrastructure. However, this program also highlighted just how much more needs to be done as there is still infrastructure that is in urgent need of repair, including some built in the 1950s and 1960s.
ALGA is calling on more councils to submit their examples of declining community infrastructure that would benefit their community through repair or renewal to the CIIR. These examples will be used to support ALGA's case for Federal funding of $300 million per year over four years for a regional and community infrastructure fund, which would enable all local councils to build community resilience by enhancing the sustainability and livability of their communities.
Mayor Troy Pickard
ALGA President