Lachlan Shire Council will receive $2,128,508 under Phase Four of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) program.
Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton was pleased to see the Federal Government confirm the details of the initiaitve, so Councils in the Parkes electorate can plan ahead for priority projects.
“I’ve been calling on the Labor Government to advise councils regarding the amount of funding each could expect to receive through Phase 4 of this program,” he stated.
“It’s a great result for our communities that these figures have at last been released. This will enable councils to plan their capital works budgets and progress projects that have been on the backburner after months of major flooding.
“This funding was initially set up by the Coalition Government to assist councils during the COVID-19 pandemic and I am pleased that this has been continued.
“It has been so necessary to maintain strong support for our towns during the ongoing hardships of recent times. The window for delivery from July of this year through to June 2025 will provide plenty of time for significant recovery works to be completed.”
Mr Coulton said that while he welcomes the confirmation that $500 million in LRCI funding originally promised to councils will be delivered, further details are needed for the extra $250 million which was announced in the October budget.
“The Labor Government needs to be transparent about every dollar they spend,” he articulated.
“The Government has stated that the additional $250 million will target road projects in rural, regional and outer urban areas. While any money for our roads is more than welcome after the damage done by recent flooding, the Government needs to be clear about exactly how this funding will be distributed. There’s a big difference between rural and outer urban areas, and I would hope our rural and regional councils receive their fair share since they’ve been hardest hit.
“Until I see more details, I will continue to have questions about the methodology Labor plans to use to determine where this money goes.
“I look forward to seeing how each of these councils will spend their allocated funding to benefit their communities,” Mr Coulton concluded.