TONY PASIN MP

MEMBER FOR BARKER

SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT

MEDIA RELEASE

PADTHAWAY CELEBRATES NEW NETBALL COURTS

Member for Barker, Tony Pasin MP joined the Padthaway Netball Club to officially open the new courts on Saturday.

The $445,000 project received $210,000 from the Federal Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program to relocate the courts near the football oval and upgrade the court lighting.

The Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program was a Coalition Government initiative, unique in that it responded to expressed local needs rather than being invested via top down determined priorities and strategies of the Federal Government.

“Sporting and community clubs are an integral part of communities in the Tatiara region and I’m so pleased that the current and future members of the Padthaway Lions and indeed the wider KNTFL will benefit from this funding for years to come,” Mr Pasin said.

“The upgrades have address significant safety concerns for players and children and will support the sustainability of the club and its membership. Strong sustainable sporting clubs are vital element to building strong and sustainable communities,” Mr Pasin said.

“It’s a very worthy project and I congratulate the Club, the community and the Tatiara District Council on its completion,” Mr Pasin said.

A total $3.25 billion over the life of the LRCI program supported Councils across Australia to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects in their region, creating jobs and long-lasting benefits for communities.

Tatiara Council received more than $3.2million from over the life of the LRCI program.

“Unfortunately, the Albanese Labor Government chose to discontinue funding for the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, which is a great loss to regional communities,” Mr Pasin said.

Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds | Ph 8724 7730

TONY PASIN MP

MEMBER FOR BARKER

ASSISTANT SHADOW MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT

MEDIA RELEASE

LABOR STARVES REGIONS OF FUNDS

The Albanese Labor Government continues to starve regional Australia of much needed economic development funding with its failure to deliver on grants programs promised to the regions.

Member for Barker, Tony Pasin MP said communities in Barker are suffering from a Federal Government funding drought due to Labor’s failure to allocate grants for much needed community infrastructure projects.

“The Labor Government in Canberra has imposed a two year funding drought on regional communities as a result of the Prime Minister’s decisions to abolish programs designed to strengthen rural and regional Australia and his failure to deliver funding initiatives of their own,” Mr Pasin said.

“Albanese’s Ministers are sitting on grant funding, refusing to part with money promised for the regions, choosing instead to hoard the cash to prop up the budget surplus in Canberra.”

Mr Pasin said numerous organisations across Barker had worked hard to develop proposals for Commonwealth funding but had been left waiting for months to hear the outcome of their application.

After more than 9 months since Labor opened the ‘Growing Regions Program’, not one application has been approved and funded.

“Whether it’s the Mount Gambier Saleyards redevelopment, Don Mosley Park upgrades in Keith, Loxton District Children’s Centre expansion, Calperum Connect, Bordertown Speedway Clubrooms or a Riverfront Play Precinct in Murray Bridge, a lot of work has gone into preparing some fantastic proposals across Barker and its simply insulting that project proponents have now been more than 250 days for an outcome.”

“Many councils are trying to finalise their budgets for the next financial year and do not know if they will be investing in planned projects or have them thrown on the scrap heap by the Prime Minister.”

“The Albanese Government is starving the regions of funding and while he does, construction costs continue to rise meaning the goal posts are continually shifting for much needed community projects,” Mr Pasin said.

Over Labor’s first two years in office they have stripped more than $20 billion in infrastructure and programs from regional communities including the Building Better Regions Fund, Community Development Grants, Regionalisation Fund, Roads of Strategic Importance Program and the Stronger Communities Program and the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program just to name a few,” Mr Pasin said.

Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds | Ph 8724 7730

TONY PASIN MP

MEMBER FOR BARKER

ASSISTANT SHADOW MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT

MEDIA RELEASE

PASIN WELCOMES FUNDING TO SALUTE SERVICE IN MURRAY BRIDGE

Federal Member for Barker, Tony Pasin MP has joined the Murray Bridge RSL and the Rural City of Murray Bridge to celebrate a $10,000 funding windfall to improve the Murray Bridge war memorial.

The funding will be used to add commemorative signage at Memorial Park.

The War Memorial located near Sturt Reserve was officially opened by Mr Pasin in 2020 following a $200,000 grant from the former Coalition Government.

Mr Pasin said it was fantastic that the RSL and the Rural City of Murray Bridge were continuing to improve the memorial and actively pursuing projects of commemoration.

“This memorial will serve as a focus point for the community for hundreds of years to come,” Mr Pasin said.

“I congratulate the RSL and Rural City of Murray Bridge on their work to add to and improve the Memorial to ensure the Murray Bridge community can continue to honour the service and sacrifice of our armed services for years to come,” Mr Pasin said.

The recently awarded $10,000 was received through the Federal Government’s Saluting their Service Grants Program.

Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds | Ph 8724 7730 

TONY PASIN MP

MEMBER FOR BARKER

SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT

MEDIA RELEASE

NEW PRECINCT FOR KEILIRA COMMUNITY OPENS

Member for Barker, Tony Pasin MP has joined the Keilira community to celebrate the completion of the new community precinct in the wake of the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.

The development received $265,000 in funding from the Federal Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grant Program in 2020.

With the project now complete, the funding has provided a hub for the Keilira community, increasing opportunities to engage, collaborate and connect not only with each other but with other rural farming communities and host recovery and resilience activities.

The $265,000 grant has created a meeting space, clubhouse, improvements to sporting facilities, site beautification and safety improvements.

Mr Pasin said the 2019–20 Australian bushfires, also known as the Black Summer bushfires, had a devastating impact on the country.

“The 2019-20 bushfires were unprecedented and devastated local communities, including Keilira. It may not have received the national or international attention of fires like Kangaroo Island but the impact of the Keilira fire on the local community in 2019 was equally as devastating,” Mr Pasin said.

Often referred to as the ‘forgotten fire’, the Keilira blaze burnt through 25,000ha, destroyed three homes, hundreds of kilometres of fencing and killed 3,000 sheep and 400 head of cattle.

The former Coalition Government established the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants to support medium to long-term recovery for affected communities to enhance and strengthen resilience.

“I congratulate the Kingston District Council for the support they gave the local Keilira community during and following the fire event and for managing this fantastic project which has upgraded facilities for the local CFS and created a cohesive and welcoming community hub,” Mr Pasin said.

The Kingston District Council received more than $400,000 in total funding from Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grant Program.

Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds | Ph: 8724 7730

TONY PASIN MP

MEMBER FOR BARKER

SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT

MEDIA RELEASE

PASIN CALLS ON BARKER COUNCILS TO HAVE THEIR SAY

Member for Barker and Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Tony Pasin MP is encouraging all local councils to make a submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport’s National Inquiry into Local Government Sustainability.

Mr Pasin, who is the Deputy Chair of the Committee said Australia’s 537 councils are under increased financial pressure to deliver core services such as road maintenance as additional responsibilities and natural disaster remediation and mitigation stretch budgets.

Mr Pasin said there was a $3 billion road maintenance backlog in South Australia alone and feared that without adequate funding from the Federal Government, local roads would fall into further disrepair or, in a cost of living crisis, the burden will fall on family budgets as ratepayers will be forced to fund the widening gaps in funding and service delivery.

“Locally controlled roads account for approximately 77 per cent of total road length in Australia yet local councils have the smallest revenue base of all levels of government, collecting just over 3 per cent of Australia’s total taxation revenue,” Mr Pasin said.

“In addition to roads, Local Government provides critical local services including planning, libraries and waste management as well as shared community infrastructure such as parks, sporting grounds and swimming pools. This is before we even factor in addition services many councils in Barker provide including early learning and aged care services,” Mr Pasin said.

“We must ensure that the Local Government sector is financial sustainability so that they can continue to deliver the services and infrastructure that local communities need for generations to come.”

Mr Pasin said under Labor, Federal Government infrastructure sub-programs such as Roads to Recovery, Black Spot, Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, Bridges Renewal Program, Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program, Remote Roads Upgrade Pilot Program and the Road Safety Program have seen an overall reduction in funding, some having been scrapped altogether.

Federal Assistance Grants have also declined as a percentage of Commonwealth taxation revenue.

“While I don’t want to pre-empt the Committees findings and recommendations, many councils, particularly those in rural and regional areas of Australia will be unable to deliver for their communities into the future unless the Federal Government reverses the trend of declining financial support and begin investing more in the local government sector,” Mr Pasin said.

“I encourage all councils in Barker as well as interested individuals, to lodge a submission before the deadline of 3 May 2024,” Mr Pasin said.

More information including how to make a submission can be found at https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Regional_Development_Infrastructure_and_Transport/Localgovernmentsustaina

Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds | Ph 8724 7730