Fuelling Regional Progress – A Guarantee for Fair Funding and Better Roads

Fixing the Roads Funding Crisis: 35% Fuel Excise and Restoring Grants for Regional Councils

Introduction

Regional Australians have been neglected for too long. The Federal Assistance Grant (FAG) system was significantly slashed under the 2014 LNP government, and neither Liberal nor subsequent Labor governments have properly fixed or restored it. This neglect has left councils struggling with crumbling roads, unsafe crossings, and growing infrastructure backlogs.

This stops now.

If elected, I will introduce the Federal Regional Roads and Assistance Grants Bill 2025, a bold plan to:

1. Restore Federal Assistance Grants to 1% of consolidated revenue, doubling the current allocation.
2. Dedicate 35% of annual fuel excise revenue—over $5 billion annually—directly to regional road infrastructure.

This policy will guarantee fair and sustainable funding to address the critical needs of regional councils. I commit to it. I guarantee I will fight relentlessly to deliver it.

Read the full bill here.

Why This Policy is Needed

1. Decades of Neglect:

• • The 2014 cuts to FAGs halved funding for councils, depriving them of billions.
  • No government since—Liberal or Labor—has stepped up to fix this system.

2. A Broken System:

• • Federal Assistance Grants remain stagnant, while regional Australians see little return on the billions they pay annually in fuel excise.
  • Councils like Wagga Wagga face a $260 million road maintenance backlog with no clear way to fund it.

3. The Cost of Inaction:

• • Poor roads increase freight costs, limit tourism, and risk lives through unsafe crossings and emergency delays.

How This Policy Will Work

1. Restore Federal Assistance Grants to 1%:

• • Doubling FAGs will provide an additional $2.75 billion annually to local councils, ensuring predictable funding for essential infrastructure.

2. Dedicate 35% of Fuel Excise Revenue to Regional Roads:

• • Allocates over $5.5 billion annually to the Federal Regional Roads Assistance Program (FRRAP), targeting urgent safety upgrades, bypasses, and freight corridors.

3. Combined Impact:

• • This policy delivers $8.25 billion annually in additional funding compared to the current model.

4. Enshrine Funding in Law:

• • Amendments to the Fuel Tax Act 2006, Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Special Account Act 2015, and Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995 will guarantee this funding is protected and sustainable.

Why This Policy is the Way Forward

1. Fixing Past Neglect:

• • This policy directly addresses the consequences of the 2014 cuts, restoring funding to the levels regional Australians deserve.

2. Fair and Predictable Funding:

• • Regional councils will finally receive a guaranteed share of national revenue, addressing decades of underfunding.

3. Immediate Relief for Councils:

• • Councils like Wagga Wagga can clear road maintenance backlogs in just over four years with this funding.

4. Economic and Safety Gains:

• • Safer, more efficient roads lower freight costs, boost tourism, and protect lives by improving emergency access.

5. Legislative Certainty:

• • This policy is backed by the Federal Regional Roads and Assistance Grants Bill 2025, ready to be introduced to Parliament.

My Guarantee to You

If elected, I will:

• Introduce the Federal Regional Roads and Assistance Grants Bill 2025 to Parliament.
• Use my influence in an imminently tight Parliament to ensure its safe passage through negotiation and pragmatism.
• Fight relentlessly to deliver fair funding for regional councils and end decades of neglect.

This is your chance to fight back. I personally drafted this legislation because I understand, as a Councillor, the immense stresses and strains on local government in regional New South Wales, particularly the Riverina.

This is your one-in-a-hundred-year chance to grasp the opportunity to finally fix our roads. If you’re sick of potholes, if you’re tired of disgraceful road conditions, this is your chance to change it.

The National Party has left you behind. Labor doesn’t care and won’t do anything. I will. I commit to it. I guarantee it. I’m your only opportunity to make this succeed.

This policy delivers bold, fair, and transformative funding to regional councils. By restoring Federal Assistance Grants and allocating 35% of fuel excise revenue to regional roads, we ensure councils like Wagga Wagga get the resources they deserve.

Vote for action. Vote for accountability. Vote to take back control of our roads. The fight back starts now.