Goulburn Mulwaree Council welcomes NSW Government commitment to road repair

Council CEO Aaron Johansson confirmed that Goulburn Mulwaree will apply for the grant money once the program opens.

"Council welcomes the funding commitment made by the NSW government this week," he said.

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"We will apply for the funding once details are provided for roads across our network impacted by weather events."

The package was announced by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Deputy Premier Paul Toole on Tuesday [January 3] to help support emergency and heavy patching of pothole damaged roads.

It follows the declaration of a Statewide Roads Emergency by Local Government NSW (LGNSW) late last year, after more than 220 natural disasters declared across NSW.

Councils will be able to access the money by the end of the month.

LGNSW president Darriea Turley said the $2.5 billion roads damage bill caused by these disasters was additional to a backlog of $1.9 billion identified by the NRMA in their 2020/21 Fix Our Broken Roads Report.

"Councils welcome this $500 million funding injection, and we are incredibly grateful that the NSW Government has recognised the statewide roads crisis and the imminent collapse of the local and regional road network," Ms Turley said.

"It's also great to hear that the funding will begin to flow almost immediately, while we are in a period of dry weather that allows councils to get out there and start repairing the damage."

NSW roads were already significantly impacting the state's economy before the steady succession of weather events in 2022, according to Ms Turley.

"This money cannot come soon enough if we are to even begin to address the longstanding maintenance issues with our roads," she said.

Ms Turley said Regional Transport and Roads minister Sam Faraway consistently acknowledged the need to get the money out there and boots on the ground to commence road repair and reconstruction.

"We are all painfully aware of the magnitude of the task before us," she said.

"This one-off funding is a great start, but what we desperately need is a significant and ongoing increase in funding for the $1.1 billion Fixing Local Roads and Fixing Country Bridges program, and an ongoing boost to annual Road Block Grant funding."

Without an ongoing boost Ms Turley said there was a very real risk that the emergency patches and repairs from this $500 million would be washed away by future weather events.

"Getting our roads up to scratch and having the ongoing funding to keep them there will not only save NSW and its people money in the long run, it will also help support the economic growth this state needs," she said.

"Good roads are good for business, for our agricultural sector, and for everyday drivers who just want to get to where they need to be safely and without damage to their vehicles."