In some parts of Australia, local roads are falling apart. Here’s an easy federal fix

By Dominic Jones, Research Associate, Grattan Institute
Natasha Bradshaw, Senior Associate, Transport and Cities Program, Grattan Institute

There are local councils in Australia that can’t afford to fix their roads, part of the problem is simply that they aren’t in Australia’s biggest states.

The problem arises from the archaic way grants to councils are handed out.

A federal parliamentary committee has just launched an inquiry into the sustainability of local government. One of the first places it should look is the distribution of federal funding.

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