Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I note the member for Bendigo's agreement in that regard. I think members on all sides realise the value of the Roads to Recovery program and, I trust, will continue to work towards increasing the opportunities for local government to improve the road network throughout Australia.

One of the key things about the Roads to Recovery program is that it helps take some of the pressure off the rate base for some of our smaller regional councils. Many regional councils have a very limited capacity to raise funds. The resources provided through the federal government help those small councils to deliver services in their communities, the funds for which would otherwise be absorbed by their road budget.

In saying that, it is important to note that in some of these small rural and regional councils the road budget, as a proportion of the total expenses for those local government areas, is far bigger as a percentage than it is for some of the metropolitan areas. So it is disproportionate to how important the road infrastructure funding is for these communities.

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