Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much to the member opposite for the question. It's so great to see members of the LNP on the road to Damascus about guidelines. We know it wasn't a big priority for them previously, but it is great to see that they're interested in guidelines now.

Five months ago, we announced our budget. Local roads and community infrastructure is a huge part of that budget, and we know how important it is to local councils. It is an untied grant fund that allows them to deal with community priorities. What we are doing on this side of the House is engaging directly with local councils, local government organisations and associations. For the first time ever, we are talking directly with them about the things that matter most to them—consulting with our trusted delivery partners in local councils.

So far in the 10 months I've held this role, I've met with nearly 200 local councils. All 200 of them have told me of the importance of untied grant funding. All 200 of them have told me that they've spent time and money putting in applications to previous grant funds that were never assessed on their merits by those opposite. In contrast—

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