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

I thank the member for the question. She is a strong advocate for her region and a two-time mayor, so she absolutely understands local government. Thank you for your work. We all know that local government is a trusted delivery partner of this government. We are rolling out record support to help them get high-impact local priorities off the ground. Since becoming the minister I have met with 250 local councils from around the country, both in their communities and in this place, and they all tell me how critical federal government funding is to their operations. This was echoed to me in the last fortnight at the local government ministers forum in Adelaide. The common theme from all jurisdictions across the country was that, when we work together, we can get more done.

The Albanese government continues to support councils to rejuvenate and transform their communities. We have listened to them, and we have increased Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program funding by $750 million. We extended delivery time frames to enable councils to deliver projects that will have lasting benefits in their communities. When I was in Adelaide I visited the City of Burnside, a fantastic council that is upgrading the George Bolton swimming pool heating by replacing an ageing gas pool heater to an all-new electric system. This project was funded through phase 4 of LRCI Program funding. This commitment will support them to be carbon neutral by 2030, and it will see the money that they are saving put into other priority projects.

Earlier this year I met with the MacDonnell Regional Council in Northern Territory, which had a number of roads washed away due to extreme weather events. I want to thank the member for Lingiari, who helped me meet a number of remote councils. Through LRCI Program funding they were able to make repairs to key roads which provided critical access to those remote communities. Recently, I received a letter from Lyn McLaughlin, mayor of the Burdekin Shire. Her letter recognised that her shire was able to deliver significant road and community infrastructure projects with our support.

We are bringing local government back to the table through our reinstatement of the Australian Council of Local Government and their inclusion in the National Cabinet. Feedback received from a number of local councils said the ACLG provided them with a fantastic opportunity to connect directly with government ministers and to have one-on-one conversations with the Prime Minister. In fact, our government is working for Australia by investing in local councils with $3.1 billion through financial assistance grants, $500 million through Roads to Recovery, $85 million through the Bridges Renewal Program, $100 million through the Community Energy Upgrades Fund and bringing forward $1.8 million in disaster relief funding. Just last week we launched the $400 million Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program. This is what it looks like when you deliver with local councils right across the country.

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