Starring role for roads | Preparing Australia program grant news | Call for dedicated regional airport funding | ALGA News 8 April 2022

A Yarra Ranges Council project to help communities better understand and deal with hazardous bushfires has won $10 million in federal mitigation funding. The project is one of 158 to have successfully won a share of $150 million in grant funding under Round One of the Preparing Australian Communities Program – Local stream. A corporation+

The Federal Government has endorsed nearly all of the 12 recommendations of the 2021 Regional Telecommunications Review. These include the need for local government, consumers, and businesses to have accessible and independent information on telecommunications services in outer urban, regional, rural and remote parts of Australia. The review, A step change in demand, set out+

A public inquiry will look at allowing greater third-party access to mobile towers and how these assets might host temporary roaming services in emergencies. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry will look at the costs of providing towers and associated infrastructure, including land access, and how these translate into the fee structures for firms+

The Federal Government has commissioned further research on construction and demolition waste management and resource recovery. It is also assessing current and future waste management and resource recovery infrastructure capacity focusing on volume and potential markets. The commitments were outlined in the Government’s response to the From Rubbish to Resources: Building a Circular Economy report+

Nearly 100 dangerous crash sites in Western Australia, Queensland, and South Australia will be fixed under the 2022-23 Black Spot funding round. About $13 million will be invested to fix a further 30 dangerous crash sites on WA, while SA will receive $8 million for 13 Black Spot projects. Queensland, meanwhile, will receive $22.1 million+

The Safer Communities Fund will receive an extra $50 million to enable new programs that help reduce crime, violence, and anti-social behaviour. Federal Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs Jason Wood said the fund’s expansion was due to overwhelming demand from the community. “[The] extra $50 million [will] support organisations with demonstrated+

New funding of $15.4 million has been earmarked for a second round of the oversubscribed Agricultural Shows Development Grant Program. The new funding to support show societies to upgrade or repair showground infrastructure follows an initial disbursement of $20 million in 2019-20. Announcing the new funding this week, Federal Agriculture and Northern Australia Minister David+

Regional businesses that support their local newspaper through advertising should get a tax rebate, a parliamentary inquiry has urged. The inquiry into Australia’s regional newspapers which was prepared by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts, also recommends the Australian Government develop a targeted grants program aimed at small, independent titles+

Capped airfares have gone on sale in WA in a new state government-backed scheme subsidising air travel from regional centres to Perth and return. The $19.8 million program will see a $299 one-way cap for destinations more than 1000km driving distance from Perth. Regional destinations under 1000km driving distance from Perth will have a $199+

The Federal Government is providing $837,500 to extend national wild dog, feral deer and feral cat and fox management coordinator programs to the end of June 2023. The coordinators help lead the fight against feral pests by supporting and coordinating action by farmers, natural resource management groups, Indigenous groups, and environmental non-government organisations. They will+