Millions of dollars extra to fix local roads

As councils struggle to repair roads damaged by severe weather, Labor has promised to provide more than $4.5 million extra funding to Shoalhaven, $663,000 to Kiama and just over $1 million to Shellharbour.

Shadow Roads Minister John Graham said that was on top of the funding included in the State Government's $280 million pothole repair funding announcement earlier this year.

"What we're committing to doing today is delivering more than double the roads funding that the government has promised," he said.

"We need to get on and fix these potholes over the next couple of years."

Mr Graham said councils would be tasked with deciding their priorities for the funding, with an extra $390 million provided across the state.

"Our priority will be local roads that need repair, not toll roads in Sydney," he said.

South Coast candidate Liza Butler said the State Government had "forgotten about our communities" while pushing to have major projects carried out.

In the meantime a key promise in the lead-up to the 2009 election, about the State taking back responsibility for 15,000km of roads from local councils, had been forgotten.

"As a councillor on Shoalhaven City Council I know how hard it's been to do those regional roads that should've gone back to the state government just after the last state election," she said.

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Cr Butler said the additional money "won't fix all the roads, but it goes a long way towards addressing that".

Meanwhile Kiama candidate Katelin McInerney said the region's roads had become "downright dangerous".

"Like many in my community I was deeply disappointed that the current government failed to deliver on their promise to fix these roads," she said.

The Coalition's promise to take back responsibility for thousands of kilometres of roads came before the Black Summer bushfires, COVID pandemic and repeated floods hit the region.

But Mr Graham said that was no excuse to delay the initiative.

"The need was great in 2019, the need's even greater in 2023 after all we've been through," he said.

"These roads are more in need of help, these councils are more in need of help to fix these roads than ever before."

But do not expect a Labor State Government to take over responsibility for those 15,000km of regional roads in the first two years after the election.

"We'll fix the roads first, and then we'll move to the transfer question," Mr Graham said.

There was also the question of a report on the issue prepared by an expert panel, which had been sitting on the Roads Minister's desk for several months, which would need to be considered, he added.