22 May 2020
Tasmanian Councils will receive more than $56 million in new funding and brought forward Financial Assistance Grants as part of the Morrison Government’s $1.8 billion boost for road and community projects through local governments across Australia.
Every local government across Tasmania will share in this funding, which will support local jobs and businesses across our state, and boost local economies that have been struggling under the effects of COVID-19.
This is part of our Government’s national $1.8 billion investment to help councils get job-creating projects underway, quickly, and play a critical role in stimulating the economy as we recover from COVID-19.
The package includes the establishment of a new $500 million Local Road and Community Infrastructure Program and the bringing forward of $1.3 billion of the 2020-21 Financial Assistance Grant payment.
The new program is based on the successful Roads to Recovery program and will enable Tasmania’s 29 councils to deliver priority projects with a focus on upgrades and maintenance to local roads and community infrastructure.
This year is one of the most challenging that we will ever experience, and it is important that as we pave a road to recovery that we do this as a community and our local governments critical to this.
Accelerating the upgrade of local infrastructure projects like playgrounds, halls and roundabouts is going to be critical in supporting local jobs in the surrounding communities and the economy across our entire state.
This will also have ongoing social benefits for our communities by helping us all to stay active and connected, with support also provided for upgrades such as walking paths, bike tracks, and picnic and barbecue facilities.
Guidelines for the Program will be provided directly to local governments by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.
Allocations under the Local Road and Community Infrastructure programs can be found at https://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/lrci.