A Dutton-Littleproud government will invest $1 billion in local councils, giving them the flexibility to prioritise and deliver community infrastructure and road projects tailored to their communities’ needs.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said the Coalition’s plan puts decision making in the hands of local councils, ensuring funding is directed to where it’s needed most.
He said the revitalised Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) program will strengthen communities, enhance resilience and improve local roads.
It will be delivered through two dedicated funding streams, each worth $500 million:
- Resilience and Community Infrastructure Stream: Open to all councils, this stream will help strengthen communities against natural disasters and fund essential infrastructure to support local growth.
- Roads Stream: Targeted to regional councils to fix potholes, and maintain and improve local roads.
“It’s a small step in the right direction towards the huge investment needed to fix our crumbling road network,” VFF president Brett Hosking said.
“The reality is roads in country Victoria are the worst in Australia as a result of years of dire neglect.
“We’re calling for this announcement to be the first in a series of major investments from all sides and levels of government to fix this mess.”
GrainGrowers welcomed the Coalition’s commitment to reinstate the LRCI program with a dedicated stream for road funding.
Policy and advocacy general manager Zach Whale said rural councils in grain growing regions were facing significant challenges in managing and maintaining their extensive road networks in the face of increasing climate variability, declining rate bases and long-term cost shifting.
“Formula-based, non-competitive funding is really important for ensuring rural and regional local governments receive equitable, needs-based support,” he said.
“Despite managing close to 50 per cent of Australia’s local road network, rural and remote councils often do so with a fraction of the resources.
“You can’t run a national freight network on patchwork funding. Rural councils need equitable, reliable support — not a race for grants.”
Mr Whale said the current road funding was directly undermining the efficiency of grain freight across regional Australia.
GrainGrowers is calling on both major parties to:
- Reinstate the Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) program, which delivered targeted funding to upgrade regional freight corridors through road sealing, flood immunity works, and pavement rehabilitation.
- Establish a dedicated bridge funding stream within the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program (SLRIP) to support upgrades to ageing regional bridges critical to grain transport and high-productivity vehicle access.
Mr Whale said strategic investment across all levels of the freight network — local, regional and arterial — is required to meet the growing challenges of climate, productivity, and rural infrastructure gaps.
Mr Littleproud said the Coalition’s investments will build stronger communities, create jobs, boost local economies and help communities prepare for future challenges, such as natural disasters.
“The Coalition is committed to working with local governments, because we know the best outcomes are achieved when decisions are made at the community level,” he said.
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