Farmers, freight operators and councils are pushing for a $5.5 billion investment into Australia’s rural road network. 

The Rural Roads Alliance says there have been 23 flood events and 429 flood declarations across 277 local government areas nationally in the past 12 months. 

The alliance, which includes industry and local government groups (GrainGrowers, National Farmers Federation, Australian livestock and Rural Transporters Association, and the Australian Local Government Association), wants the federal government to set up an emergency funding package totalling nearly $5.5 billion for regional road and infrastructure reconstruction, “first and last mile” freight connections, and build long-term climate resilience for freight networks.

“It's got to such a critical point,” GrainGrowers general manager of policy and advocacy Zach Whale said.

“The especially wet couple of years on the east coast means the road surface has just broken up and there has not been the ability to fix that quickly enough.

“It's a huge problem. It's a big price tag but it's a big pay-off for all regional road users if we can get this right.

“There's been lots of talk recently about escalating food costs [and] transport is a component of that.

“If you can start to actually address these rural transportation issues it also has a flow-on impact to the cost of goods.”

Recent natural disasters have already cost the Australian economy $5 billion, with National Farmers Federation vice president David Jochinke saying the farming sector has taken a huge hit, leaving many stuck navigating route diversions.

“I've heard of farmers having to travel three or four times as far to get access to their properties. I’ve heard of multiple people with damages to their vehicles,” he said.

“The rural road network goes beyond getting produce to and from the paddock. It is actually about livability, the school buses, it is about getting people to and from work safely.”