[Roads] are getting worse because we’re not spending enough to maintain them.
Three-quarters of our roads are managed by local councils.
Every year, those councils spend A$1 billion less on maintenance than is needed to keep those roads in their current condition – let alone improve them.
New Grattan Institute research finds the typical regional area has a funding shortfall of more 40%. In remote areas, it’s more than 75%.
One reason for this underspend is that untied federal government grants to local councils haven’t kept pace with soaring costs.
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Tight budgets make it tempting to delay maintenance.
But delaying will only end up costing more in the long run, leaving taxpayers paying more to fix more badly damaged roads.
Typically a memorandum goes into place after paving. Cities will send letters out to utilities to do work now before they pave through.
And yet, inevitably, a couple of weeks after the roax is laid, someone wi be digging it up…