COUNCIL chief executives have called for Canberra and Spring Street to reinvest in the south-west’s highway network among other measures ahead of budget season.
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The heads of the region’s shires have outlined budget priorities including Princes Highway improvement work, an integrated regional library and a program focused on educational attainment.
Warrnambool City Council chief executive Bruce Anson said improved connectivity through highway resurfacing and increased train services had region-wide implications.
“The duplication of the Princes Highway between Winchelsea and Colac has been in the planning stages for several years and now there’s progress on the ground there,” Mr Anson said.
“The message the south-west is sending is that the Princes Highway doesn’t stop at Colac and we are advocating for work right through to the South Australian border. That can be through extra passing lanes but even road surfacing works are necessary in order to upkeep the highway.”
Mr Anson cited a regional library based at South West TAFE and the educational attainment program Beyond the Bell as initiatives worthy of significance ahead of budget season.
A number of council chiefs praised the federal government for its cash injection to Roads to Recovery but added that a freeze to the financial assistance grants program had caused bean counters unnecessary headaches.
Corangamite Shire chief executive Andrew Mason said Treasurer Joe Hockey had reviewed a number of initiatives contained within the 2014 federal budget and hoped the grants freeze would also be re-examined. “We have estimated the freeze by the federal government to its financial assistance grants program will cost the Corangamite Shire $1.4 million over the four-year period to the 2017-18 financial year,” Mr Mason said.
“Many shires, including Corangamite, hope this can be reviewed. When you have $1.4 million less to work with, it does have a flow-on effect to the way we operate and the services we can provide.”
Southern Grampians Shire chief executive Richard Perry said the election commitments made during last year’s state election campaign would be monitored over the budget period.
“The return of funding to the National Centre for Farmer Health was an election commitment by the new state government of $1 million over four years, so we’ll be looking for that one,” Mr Perry said.
“A commitment was also made of $19 million towards the Grampians Peaks Trail so we would also expect to see something related to that in the state budget.”
Moyne Shire chief executive David Madden said councils throughout the state wanted to see next month’s budget address cost shifting. He said local government had to shoulder a growing proportion of financial responsibility for some services.
“An example of this problem is the school-crossing supervisor program,” Mr Madden said.
“Originally, state governments would contribute 80 per cent of the funding with local government contributing the remaining 20 per cent. Now we have the opposite situation where councils such as ours contribute 80 per cent to school crossing supervisors.”