Late last week the federal minister for infrastructure, Catherine King, announced new priorities for national transport spending. The list exposes a divided Australia. In our capital cities there is lavish spending on transport megaprojects - chiefly motorways and metros - in order to cope with the nation's relentless population growth. Away from the capital cities, however, funding for transport infrastructure is struggling.
Of course, when we say 'transport infrastructure' in the regions we mean roads. Historically, the highways and arterial roads that traverse regions such as the Hunter have been built and maintained by partnerships between federal and state governments. Yet, as the report Potholes and Pitfalls by the policy think tank Grattan Institute reveals, about 75 per cent of Australia's roads are managed by local councils. On their websites I find that Lake Macquarie council is responsible for 1322 kilometres of local roads, and Cessnock council for 1157 kilometres. Newcastle, Singleton, Maitland, Dungog and Port Stephens councils each say they have 700 to 800 kilometres of local roads on their books. A typical capital city local government area, Grattan says, has barely half this responsibility.
