By Amy Crawford, CEO, Australian Local Government Association
It was fantastic to see about 150 mayors, shire presidents, CEOs and council staff at our National Local Government Housing Summit in Adelaide last month.
Following the summit, we have released new research highlighting key opportunities and policy reforms for councils and communities to play a more effective role in addressing Australia’s housing crisis.
Delivered by Equity Economics, the Addressing the Housing Crisis: Unlocking Local Government’s Contribution report showed with greater support and partnerships, local governments can facilitate more affordable housing and help deliver on Australia’s housing target of 1.2 million homes over the next five years.
However, the research also showed that building the enabling – or trunk – infrastructure to cover the gap between current housing constructions and our nation’s target is predicted to cost $5.7 billion.
Of course, this is beyond local government’s capacity to fund, and we need better, more sustainable partnerships with all levels of government in the future.
The report was informed by a survey of about 130 councils across Australia, which showed:
- 80 per cent of local governments can’t cover trunk infrastructure expenses. Only five per cent of responding councils have current annual revenues that cover total annual expenses for trunk infrastructure.
- 40 per cent of local governments have cut back on new infrastructure developments because of inadequate trunk infrastructure funding.
As a signatory to the National Housing Accord, ALGA supports the Government’s national housing target, but more upfront investment is needed for trunk infrastructure for new developments, including water and sewage facilities, parks and main roads.
Local governments receive some support for this infrastructure through developer contributions and government grants, but it doesn’t fully cover the costs which are ultimately subsidised by our communities.
Last year, we welcomed the Government’s $500 million Housing Support Program for state and local governments to build enabling infrastructure, but as our new research shows, this is just a drop in the ocean.
Given the size of our infrastructure deficit, it’s vital we work together with all levels of government to explore new funding partnerships and long-term reforms that will support and benefit our communities.
Finally, it’s fantastic to see we have already had a strong interest in our 2024 National Local Roads, Transport & Infrastructure Congress from 3-4 December.
A program outline is now available for this year’s event which will be held in Margaret River in Western Australia.
We hope you can register and join us to discuss a range of transport, infrastructure resilience, asset management, climate and circular economy challenges and opportunities.
Image: ymgerman/shutterstock.com
