Ballina Shire gets $3m in assistance grants
Member for Ballina Don Page has welcomed the recent announcement that Ballina and Byron Shire Councils will receive more than $5.2 million from the Australian Government through the Financial Assistance Grants program.
“The Australian Government has provided ongoing assistance to local councils for more than 30 years. The grant is broken up into two components, which are General Purpose and Local Roads. However, there are no conditions attached to the expenditure of these funds,” Mr Page said.
“The funding allows local councils to spend money on local priorities, whether they be infrastructure, community services or recreational facilities.”
The Financial Assistance Grants for 2007-08 include:
Ballina Shire Council: General $2,090,707; roads: $922,414; total $3,002,697.
Byron Shire Council: General $1,404,408; roads $865,157; total $2,262,855.
“Nationally, the Australian Government has allocated $1.763 billion in Financial Assistance Grants to local government in 2007-08, with New South Wales councils receiving 31.7 per cent of the national total,” Mr Page said.
“The Australian Government has increased Financial Assistance Grant funding to local government by $76.7 million from 2006-07.”
