Local Government Association of Queensland to push for slice of speeding revenue for councils

THE Local Government Association of Queensland will lobby the Palaszczuk Government to give councils a share of the revenue generated by fines on roads under their jurisdictions.

QUEENSLAND councils would be given a slice of the millions of dollars in revenue generated from speeding fines under a proposal put forward by the state’s peak local government body.

The Courier-Mail can reveal the Local Government Association of Queensland will try to lobby the Palaszczuk Government for councils to be given a 10 per cent share of speed camera revenue generated on local roads.

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They argue that the majority of serious crashes occur on local roads and councils deserve a share of the revenue for their own road safety projects.

The idea is set to be discussed this week as councils across the state converge on Brisbane for the LGAQ’s annual conference.

Local Government Association of Queensland CEO Greg Hallam. Picture: Brendan Radke

LGAQ chief executive Greg Hallam said they believed it was a responsible proposal that would lead to safety improvements for council-owned roads.

“We’re not being silly, it’s not over the top,” he said.

“As a level of government (we) raise 3 per cent of all taxation in Australia, but we’re responsible for 33 per cent of the nation’s infrastructure.

“There needs to be a change in policy more focused on eliminating deaths where they occur, which is on local roads.”

The idea is yet to be endorsed as an official policy of the LGAQ and the body insists it is not after money generated from speed cameras on state-owned roads.

Last year, the State Government raised more than $93 million from fines issued from mobile speed cameras.

A speed camera parked on the footpath on Kelvin Grove Rd.

The Brisbane City Council will move its own motion at the LGAQ conference calling for a dedicated road safety funding program that would be paid for by the state.

In a statement, BCC Infrastructure Chair Amanda Cooper said they would welcome any funding from the Federal or State Government to improve road safety but did not specifically address the council’s motion.

The motion calls for the money to be used on “low-cost high-return” investments in road safety.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the State Government already partnered with local government to fund council roads through the Roads and Transport Alliance.

He also said $70 million every year was given to councils under the Transport Infrastructure Development Scheme.

“It provides important funding assistance for regional councils with large road networks but relatively small ratepayer bases,” he said.