Election 2025: Stop cutting ribbons and fill $3bn funding gap: councils

Local councils have accused Anthony Albanese of failing to honour a 2022 election commitment to ensure their sustainability.

Anthony Albanese has come under fire from the Australian Local Government Association over what it says is a broken election promise on funding. Picture: John Appleyard/NewsWire

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Local councils are accusing Anthony Albanese of failing to honour a 2022 election commitment to ensure their sustainability, criticising all governments for being more interested in “cutting ribbons” than instituting reforms that will keep councils from laying off staff and cutting services.

As policies around the public service remain central to the 2025 election, the Australian Local Government Association has issued a stark warning that without more than $3bn of funding to plug holes in infrastructure and service delivery, councils across the country may need to begin scaling back what they can deliver.

Labor committed to “long-term financial sustainability of local government” in its platform ahead of the 2022 election through increases to grant allocations, including “fair increases” to financial assistance grants.

“To be honest, the election commitment, as far as we’re concerned, hasn’t been honoured,” Australian Local Government Association president and Gladstone mayor Matt Burnett said.

“It’s come to the point where the crisis is local councils. In order to survive, we need real money, not pocket money.”

ALGA is pleading with the major parties to make a $3.5bn funding commitment for all 537 councils across the country. Of that amount, $1.1bn would go to enabling infrastructure to unlock housing supply, $600m for safer local roads and $900m to boosting emergency management capabilities. Remaining funds would address climate adaptation and community infrastructure needs.

Without the financial support, Mr Burnett said, smaller local councils would need to begin making decisions about what ­services to cut.

“What happens is infrastructure doesn’t get replaced or maintained as it needs to because they don’t have the money in the bank,” he said.

“Potentially, staff get let go at some of the smaller councils … projects get put off in communities … and you could see community infrastructure like pools and ­libraries close or reduce hours.”

Former mayor and Labor minister Kristy McBain, left, has made substantial progress on road funding.

He said there had been some progress on road funding, thanks in large part to former mayor and Labor minister Kristy McBain, but the government needed to look beyond singular announcements and photo opportunities.

“Federal politicians, and state politicians for that matter, like to cut ribbons. It’s not about cutting a ribbon,” Mr Burnett said.

“I’m sorry, it’s come to the point where we’re in crisis here.”

He urged against the government relying on grant programs alone, where councils were pitted against each other and smaller local government bodies were unable to apply because of the amount of work involved.

“The Prime Minister has broken his promise to deliver fair funding increases to councils across Australia and local government is worse off under Labor,” opposition local government spokesman Darren Chester said.

He pointed to the Coalition’s $5bn Housing Infrastructure Program and said the Coalition would have “more to say” on assistance to local government.

Local Government Minister Catherine King said Labor had brought councils back to the national table, and initiated the parliamentary inquiry into local government sustainability.

“No government has done more for councils than the Albanese government, and we will continue working with the sector to improve local services and to deliver priority projects.”