Download PDFRoads Acts Amendment Bill No. 2 (1976) (Bills Digest 45, 1976-77) Electronic version created by the Law and Bills Digest Section, Parliamentary Library, 2007.
Warning: This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the Bill.
PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA
THE PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY
Roads Acts Amendment Bill No. 2 (1976)
Presented by : Hon. P.J. Nixon, Minister for Transport.
House of Representatives, 11 November 1976.
Short Digest of Bill
Purpose
The purpose of this Bill is to provide an additional $35.8 million of Commonwealth assistance to the States for road works in 1976-77. In order to qualify for this additional grant, the States will have to provide a concomitant amount from their own resources for roads in 1976-77.
Previous Legislation
The Bill seeks to amend the National Roads Act 1974 as amended and the Roads Grants Act 1974 as amended which provide Commonwealth payments to the States for specified categories of road works. Under the National Roads Act 1974 grants are allocated for the construction and maintenance of declared national highways and for declared export roads and major commercial roads from 1974-75 to 1976-77. The Roads Grants Act 1974 provides for grants to States towards approved expenditures
on urban arterial roads, rural arterial and developmental roads, beef roads, urban local roads, rural local roads and minor traffic engineering from 1974-75 to 1976-77.
The Roads Grants Act 1974 also sets down annual quotas for expenditure by each State from its own resources.
In his 1976-77 Budget Speech, the Treasurer (Hon. P. R Lynch) announced that $433.5 million would be made available for roads in 1976-77 including $35.8 million which would be made available in addition to the amounts appropriated under the existing legislation. According to Budget Paper No. 7, the additional grant was to offset cost escalation.
However, the present Government believes that local government has suffered badly in competing for road funds and this Bill will provide most of the extra $35.8 million to rural roads.
Provisions
The Bill will amend schedule 7 of the National Roads Act 1974 and will amend schedule 1 and insert schedules 14, 15 and 16 in the Roads Grants Act 1974 in order to provide increases in the various categories of road funds to the States as follows:
(clauses 6, 10 and 12).
Roads Acts Amendment Bill No. 2 (1976) (Bills Digest 45, 1976-77) Electronic version created by the Law and Bills Digest Section, Parliamentary Library, 2007.
Warning: This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the Bill.
2
National Highways
Rural Arterial & Developmental Roads
Rural Local Roads Urban Arterial Roads Total
$ $ $ $ $
N.S.W. 6,630,000 4,670,000 11,300,000
Victoria 1,500,000 6,000,000 7,500,000
Queensland 2,000,000 2,100,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 7,500,000
S.A. 1,200,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 3,200,000
W.A. 1,700,000 1,900,000 1,000,000 4,600,000
Tasmania 700,000 1,000,000 1,700,000
Total 2,000,000 13,830,000 16,370,000 3,600,000 35,800,000
The Bill will also amend schedule 8 of the Roads Grants Act 1974 in order to increase the States’ quotas of expenditure on roads from their own resources necessary for them to qualify for the additional funds. The quotas will be increased by the same percentage (about 9%) as the increase in Commonwealth payments for roads. (clause 11). The new quotas are as follows:
$
N.S.W. 135,800,000
Victoria 113,600,000
Queensland 53,500,000
S.A. 34,200,000
W.A. 36,600,000
Tasmania 11,300,000
Finance, Industries, Trade and Development Group
17 November 1976. LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH SERVICE