Federal Budget Delivers Local Jobs and Infrastructure in Maranoa

May 19, 2021

The 2021–22 Federal Budget delivers substantial support to assist Maranoa councils to boost Australia’s economic recovery thanks to an additional $1 billion through Phase 3 of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program.

Federal Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said local councils will directly benefit from the funding boost.

“This Budget injection for our hard-working local councils means even more funding for upgrades to local roads, bike paths, community halls, playgrounds, parks and sports facilities, as well as improved accessibility to public facilities,” Mr Littleproud said.

“Providing more time for planning and construction will enable local governments to consider a broader range of priority projects and potentially undertake larger, more complex developments to deliver even great benefits for their communities.

“I have been delighted to see how, over recent months, LRCI Program funding has enabled councils to support local communities to bounce back from the impacts of COVID-19 – and Phase 3 will further assist our local communities in emerging from the pandemic stronger and more resilient.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the new investment brings the total Australian Government commitment to the strongly supported and highly successful LRCI Program to $2.5 billion.

“This is fantastic news for local councils across Australia, who will be able to access additional funding to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

“This is all about supporting the resilience of local economies by delivering even more jobs to help communities bounce back from COVID-19, with the additional funding and a longer delivery window to provide greater flexibility for communities to address local priorities.”

Local councils have so far nominated more than 5,500 projects over the first two phases of the LRCI Program, with construction on the first 2,900 projects due to be completed by 30 June 2021.

LRCI Phase 3 is expected to support an estimated 3,500 jobs over the life of the projects across the nation, particularly where employment in other sectors such as tourism been negatively impacted.

Maranoa Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program allocations:

Council	Phase One	Phase Two	Proposed Phase 3	Total LRCI funding
Balonne Shire Council	1,141,450	875,577	2,282,900	4,299,927
Barcaldine Regional Council	1,291,666	936,002	2,583,332	4,811,000
Barcoo Shire Council	710,542	480,687	1,421,084	2,612,313
Blackall-Tambo Regional Council	808,346	588,001	1,616,692	3,013,039
Bulloo Shire Council	848,921	574,491	1,697,842	3,121,254
Diamantina Shire Council	453,393	309,911	906,786	1,670,090
Goondiwindi Regional Council	1,139,053	1,043,240	2,278,106	4,460,399
Longreach Regional Council	1,196,175	888,665	2,392,350	4,477,190
Maranoa Regional Council	2,576,007	2,050,261	5,152,015	9,778,283
Murweh Shire Council	1,216,089	923,628	2,432,178	4,571,895
Paroo Shire Council	973,400	689,993	1,946,800	3,610,193
Quilpie Shire Council	891,657	614,889	1,783,314	3,289,860
South Burnett Regional Council	1,644,465	1,951,184	3,288,930	6,884,579
Southern Downs Regional Council	1,577,341	1,983,482	3,154,682	6,715,505
Toowoomba Regional Council	4,092,300	7,170,885	8,184,600	19,447,785
Western Downs Regional Council	3,465,660	3,219,570	6,931,320	13,616,550
Winton Shire Council	1,066,785	741,499	2,133,570	3,941,854

Councils will be able to access funding through LRCI Phase 3 from 1 January 2022, with Phase 3 projects to be completed by 30 June 2023.

For more information, visit the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications website.