The LGAQ’s big ticket item in its 10 Point Election Plan is a commitment to a minimum $500 million a year in baseline funding for local government, indexed annually, as well as a better framework for grants and subsidies that allows councils to plan ahead with certainty.
While neither the LNP nor Labor would wholly commit to this, their responses were good indications of how each party would approach the issue of infrastructure funding in government.
Labor pointed to its promise to spend another $200 million under the popular Works for Queensland program until 2020-21, which would bring the total amount of money going into local council-led infrastructure projects under the program to $600 million.
The LNP remains wedded to reintroducing its Royalties for the Regions program, committing $500 million which it promises to drive jobs in rural and regional Queensland.
“Under this new scheme, local governments and stakeholder groups will be encouraged to submit their projects,’’ the LNP says.
“All projects will need to demonstrate community support and benefits, ongoing viability, value for money and improvements to community infrastructure.”