9 196
FOR PRESS PM. No. 28/ 1969 ( A)
NEW ROADS AGREEMENT
Statement by the Prime Minister, Mr John Gorton
During the five years ending on 30 June this year, the
Commonwealth Government has provided $ 750 million towards the costs of
roads in the States. During the five years beginning on I July this year, the
Commonwealth Government proposes to provide 252 million towards
these costs. The increase will be over half a billion dollars or 67 per cent.
The money will be divided amongst the States by a new
formula. That is, the 200 million will first be divided according to
the existing formula of one-third-area, one -third-population, and one-thirdmotor
vehicle registration. The 200 million will then be divided by
the scheduling formula suggested by the Bureau of Roads Report. The
allocation for each State will be the mean of the two amounts so obtained.
This is because adopting the scheduling formula in toto
would unduly disrupt the existing pattern of road expenditure and because
of the operational and other problems that drastic, rapid change could
create. This proposal, if it were left at that, would lead to South
Australia, West Australia, and Tasmania receiving inadequate increases
during the next five years.
Therefore a further $ 52 million is to be provided for those
States, thus ensuring that no State will receive an increase less than
per cent of the amount received in the last five years.
As a result of these proposals, the amounts of money will
be divided amongst the various States as shown below
Last 5 years Proposal -for Increase
next 5 years millions
N. S. W. 209.1 380.4 171.3
Vic. 146.9 254.4 107.5
Q'ld 137.0 231. 6 94. 6
S. A. 86. 129. 43.0
W. A. 133.6 200.4 66.8
Tasmania 37.5 56. 25 18.
The Commonwealth proposes that the money
from the principal grant available to each State will be
made in three sepDarate grants
One is to be spent on urban roads
One is to be spent on maintrunk and arterial roads
One is to be spent on other rural roads
Out of the basic grant to each State 1.5% is to be allocated
to planning and research.
The sum to be allotted to urban roads throughout
Australia, during the five year period, is to be '. W: 600.69 million.
This is for construction and reconstruction of
the cities' major traffic arteries, the throughways,
expressways, traffic interchanges, and other types of urban
road systems. It is not for ordinary street systems.
The sum to be allotted to national trunk roads
will be S186.76 million.
This is for the construction and reconstruction
of such roads. These are the roads outside the cities which
provide for long distance movement of traffic, the highways
that join the principal centres of population.
The sum to be allotted for " other rural roads"
will be ' 4394.55 million.
This is for construction, reconstruction and
maintenance of these roads.
The tables below show the amounts each State
will receive for each of the three categories of roads.
UIRBiLIi RO-DS
N. S. W. 201.01
Vic. 156. D1
Q'land 99.24 This is 50.06% o of the
9.3principal grant.
62.41
Tasmania 22.59
600.69
3.
MAIN TRUNK ROADS
N'IS.. 1 1W.
Vic. Q I land
S . A.
W. A.
Tasmania 63.87 17.72 56.72 13.67 23.91 10. 87
186.76 This is 15.56% of the
principal grant.
QTHER RURAL ROJAIDS
S. S
Vic. Q I land
S . A.
N-. Tasmania 109.82 76.85 72.17 45.10 70.88 19.73
394.55 This is 32.88,, of the
principal grant.
of the basic grant to each State is to be allotted to
planning and research. This will total $ 10 million.
In addition to the allocations shown in the
-tables above, which deal only with the division of the
principal grant the States shown below will receive
supplementary grants as follows.
Millions
Sa.. W. A.
Tasmania $ 40.8
632.25
These supplementary grants can be spent on any category of
road according to the decisions of the State Government
receiving them.
Each State will be required to increase their expenditure
on roads from its own resources at a rate no less than the
rate of increase in motor vehicle registrations in that State.
CANBEJRRA 13 March 1969