Calls for Upgrading Road Funding Following Flood Damage

Regional roads should be improved, better maintained, and receive financial support redirected to help the country cope with natural disasters such as major flooding. These were some of the conclusions of a parliamentary inquiry that suggested the government reconsider financial aid grants for road development and maintenance after widespread flooding in 2022. The committee’s final report included 26 recommendations, including improved consultation with local councils regarding road upgrade priorities. Luke Gosling, the committee’s chair and a Labor MP, stated that the significant impact on communities, such as isolation and displacement, caused by the damage to many regional roads during flood disasters. He added

“Communities were isolated and displaced, some for weeks and months,”

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Mr. Khoury backed calls from the report urging the federal government to reprioritise regional road funding. “We continue to collect record funding from the fuel excise and pay GST on top of it… and we absolutely should make regional funding a priority,” he said.