AusLink (National Land Transport) Act 2005
Explanatory statement – Variation of AusLink Roads to Recovery List No. 2008/1
On 2 August 2005, the Minister determined a list of bodies to receive Roads to Recovery funds (the list) and their allocations as required under s.87 of the AusLink Act (the Act). The bodies listed are the local government authorities that existed at the time but there is provision in the Act to amend the list to take account of council amalgamations etc. Several changes have already occurred which are now reflected in the list.
Local government in Queensland was restructured with effect from 15 March 2008 with 121 of the councils in Queensland before this date being amalgamated into 40. There were two types of amalgamations:
. simple amalgamations where two or more existing councils were amalgamated in their entirety to form a new council. Almost all amalgamations come into this category; and
. complex amalgamations: three councils have been divided with one part going to one council and the rest to another council.
Under s.88(1) of the Act, where a body on the list ceases to exist before it has received its full allocation, the Minister can redirect any part of the allocation of the precursor body not paid to it at the date of abolition to the body that has taken over its responsibilities. Thus, the funds not yet paid to the existing councils will become the allocation of the new councils.
This instrument will remove the abolished councils from the list of funding recipients and will add the new councils to the list. It will also determine a final allocation for the new councils formed via simple amalgamations, where two or more councils are amalgamated in their entirety to form a new council.
A few other councils will be formed via complex amalgamations ie the new council will consist of two or more councils amalgamated in their entirety plus parts of one or more other councils. It is not possible to determine the final allocations for these councils at this time and interim allocations only for these councils have been determined.