Australian farmers have renewed calls for real action on road infrastructure funding after recent rains wreaked further damage on roads and bridges across the state.
NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the sheer number and size of flood events over recent years has left many roads and bridges across NSW in desperate need of major repair. "Repairing our rural road infrastructure is essential to keeping our rural communities alive and moving the food and fiber that fuels our nation," Mr Martin said.
"Thanks to the current state of our roads, farmers are facing significant challenges and increased costs to get inputs such as fertilizer and fuel onto their farms and transport the food and fiber they produce off-farm and onto the dinner tables of Australian families. Recent rain events certainly haven't helped the state of NSW's infrastructure, and we're now facing a wrecked road to recovery for many regional roads and bridges."
Despite past funding packages announced by state and federal governments to aid infrastructure repair, Mr Martin said a large portion of this funding was focused on fixing potholes, leaving many of the state's major roads and bridges in poor condition.
"While there has been some funding put in place to support road recovery, it's not nearly enough to satisfy demand and fix the thousands of kilometers of roads in disrepair across the state," Mr Martin said. "We're talking billions, not millions, when it comes to what we need to get our local, state and national roads and bridges back on track after the weather events of recent years."
"We know it takes time to assess damaged roads – and this is certainly the case for farmers in the Megalong Valley who are now essentially cut off by the recent road slip in the area. However, it's been many years of flood after flood for many rural communities, and with each disaster, their roads and bridges have seen a fresh wave of damage that desperately needs federal budget funding now."
For more information:
Eliza Fessey
NSW Farmers
Tel.: +61 0427 411 220
Email: [email protected]