Tenterfield Shire Council has a $18.2 million backlog in funding needs to repair and rebuild its roads

The NRMA revealed a $94.5 million backlog of funding needed by councils in the New England and North West regions to maintain local roads, as part of a state-wide backlog of $1.9 billion for 2020/21.

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Glen Innes council carried the heaviest burden with a backlog of $19.9 million followed by Tenterfield Council with a $18.2 million backlog.

"It's not pretty, but as that report shows we're not alone," Tenterfield mayor Bronwyn Petrie said.

"Glen Innes is like us; a lot of the shire is on steeper land, the roadworks there have more rainfall at higher velocity and they require constant attention. "They also deteriorate quicker, too.

"We have been fortunate to secure funding over the past five years from state and federal government which clawed us back from 47mill to 11mill this year.

"That came at a cost, some of it we had to co-fund but there were works that simply had to be done, and that work continues.

"Hopefully we receive some grants which don't require co-funding and find contractors who aren't already tied up, then we can keep eating away at that backlog."

The Australian Local Government Association 2021 National State of the Assets report indicates that around ten percent of the infrastructure owned and managed by Australian councils is in poor condition and requires intervention.

Mayor Petrie is calling on more from the Financial Assistance Grants which are valuable for local government as the funding is untied, meaning it can be spent where it is most needed.

"We'll never get there unless the federal government increases the federal assistance grant back to the minimum of one percent," she said.

"At the moment it's 0.55% of the GDP, it used to be about 1.2%, but it's diminished over the years.

"All councils across Australia are calling for that so we can do the work that needs to be done.

"If we get an increase in the federal assistance grant that helps us build better roads that are less susceptible to long-term damage."

Tenterfield shire was recently allocated $579,000 under the NSW Government's $50 million Fixing Local Roads Pothole Repair Round.

It has also been granted just over $4 million for four projects under the NSW Government's Fixing Country Bridges Program.

"We're grateful for recent funding, but it's still insufficient for our needs," mayor Petrie said.

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