NSW Farmers has renewed calls for fairer local government funding for regional and rural communities following a state parliamentary inquiry held earlier this week.
NSW Farmers Business, Economics and Trade Committee Chair John Lowe says local councils were on the brink due to increased financial pressure, calling for a critical review of funding structures to ensure rural and regional communities had the support they need.
Mr Lowe added with these councils struggling to generate revenue, farmers and local residents are being left to shoulder huge rates while they cope with sub-standard services and infrastructure that won’t be fixed anytime in the near future.
He says special variation rates, cost-shifting, infrastructure funding and accountability were just some of the challenges facing councils and called for boosted federal support for Financial Assistance Grants, prioritising more indexed block grants for roads and providing better training for local governments to handle finances and administration to support local councils and the services they provide.
