MEDIA RELEASE FROM CRAIG INGRAM MP - MEMBER FOR GIPPSLAND EAST Issued: Wednesday 15th November 2006

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Road funding important for the region: Ingram

The Independent Member for Gippsland East, Craig Ingram, said today that on his re-election a priority of his next term would be the fair funding of road infrastructure in East Gippsland.

Mr Ingram has previously called for an investigation into the outrageous inequities that have developed in road and other infrastructure funding at a state and federal level, and the impact of those inequities.

“The Grants Commission allocates almost $100 million of Commonwealth money, allegedly to help Victorian Councils in most need, but the current model of road funding gives millions of those dollars to metropolitan councils,” Mr Ingram said.

"Some of these spend less than $10 per head on roads, while some rural councils -- who have thousands of kilometres of roads – have spent over $300 per head of ratepayers’ dollars and still struggle to maintain crumbling infrastructure.

 "Rural ratepayers pay up to four times the level of rates and a Victorian Minister has admitted that some metropolitan councils get grants they do not need.”

Mr Ingram said a fairer system must be found to ensure that balance was struck and rural councils could manage the cost-shifting imposed on them by the state and federal governments.

“Councils are not allocated enough funds to provide child care, immunisation aged care services and public libraries,” he said.

“A federal inquiry in 2003 recommended that a quick way to recoup funds would be to remove the Grants Commission's ‘as of right’ entitlement.

"That would instantly provide an amount of funding to rural councils, which would assist them in providing their services," Mr Ingram concluded.