Thank you Tim and Darriea. 

Thank you to Aunty Selena for the Welcome to Country.

Acknowledgement of Country

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of this region.

I pay my respect to their Elders past and present. 

I extend that respect to any First Nations people here today.

Introduction 

President Matt Burnett, ALGA Board members, mayors, councillors, council leaders, colleagues…

It’s great to be with you again to focus on regional Australia today.

I particularly want to acknowledge those from our most remote areas, especially Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling Islands, who have travelled so far to be with us again this week. 

Policy and legislation at the Commonwealth level may be made here in Canberra, but it’s “lived” in towns and communities, and through councils, right across the country.

I am a proud regional member of this place.

And as a Minister, I am unashamedly vocal about the benefits of investing in our regions and supporting our councils.

Why? Because Regional Australia, home to millions of people, deserves the same services and support, regardless of our postcode.

And strong councils support strong communities.

When a road needs repair, a sports club needs an upgrade, a town needs more workers or housing, or when a community walks the long path to recovery from fire or flood…it’s always local government that steps up first.

That is why today’s regional forum matters.

And this year’s Federal Budget matters.

Not just for the dollars, but for the community impact that our work has on everyday people from all walks of life.

Every day, every level of Government faces the pressure to do more. 

Housing, workforce shortages, ageing infrastructure, digital connectivity, access to health and aged care, cost-of-living pressures, and natural disasters.

This is a difficult time for many people. 

And councils sit in the midst of almost all of it as the frontline service that people turn to when times are tough.

The Australian Government’s task is to respond with investments that are evidence-based, targeted, and that support long-term community impact.

Budget 2026-26

Which is why we reiterated our commitments to regional Australia in this year’s Budget.

Health

Firstly; to health.

Wherever I go around our amazing country, regional healthcare is always raised with me. 

That is why this government’s $579.6 million-a-year investment in Medicare Urgent Care Clinics is vital.

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are now a permanent part of Australia’s health system.

We have delivered all 50 new UCCs that we committed to in the election. 

In regional and rural Australia, 47 clinics—of the 137 nationally—are providing accessible, affordable urgent care when people need it.

Elsewhere, bulk billing rates have increased in every state and territory thanks to our record investments.

There are now over 3,800 Medicare Bulk Billing practices across the country.
This is easing pressure on regional emergency departments, so the most critical care is there for the patients who need it most.

We are also investing a further $25 million to establish up to six new fully bulk-billing general practices in the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter regions.

We also know that we need to help get more health care professionals to our regions. 

So we are creating 20 new Medical Commonwealth Supported Places for the University of Tasmania—meaning more doctors training in an area that has long struggled to attract a health workforce.

Housing

And if there is one issue that I know every regional council chamber is talking about, it’s housing.

Because you can't grow regional communities without housing. And those essential health, education and care professionals that we all need, need somewhere to live. 

To strengthen housing security—especially in regional Australia—we have an over $47 billion Homes for Australia plan to build more homes, help first home buyers and support renters.

The expanded 5 per cent deposit scheme and the Help to Buy scheme are helping more Australians into home ownership.

We’ve already helped over 81,000 regional Australians into home ownership through the 5% deposit scheme since May 2022. 

I was in Cooma just last week to inspect the nearly complete civil works that are transforming 12.6 hectares of unused land into a new community.

This has unlocked 140 new residential land lots for this community thanks to a $26.5 million joint investment between the Australian and NSW Labor Governments. 

And we absolutely heard all of you when you said to us that you were ready to help us meet our housing targets, but you needed help with enabling infrastructure. 

So that’s exactly what we are doing. 

In the Budget, we announced another $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund, with $500 million specifically allocated to enabling infrastructure in our regions. This will go to roads, water and sewerage to unlock much-needed housing supply.

This is on top of the previous $1.5 billion from the Housing Support Program in the last term. 

It will fund things like footpaths, cycle paths and lighting. 

Like bridges, culverts, stormwater and drainage works. 

And water and wastewater infrastructure. 

None of these things on their own are sexy or pretty – except to a room full of local government tragics, like us!

But we all know they are absolutely essential to our communities. 

Roads

Turning from housing to roads… 

By doubling the Roads to Recovery Program we’ve committed $4.4 billion over five years to local roads—an increase of $1.8 billion compared with the previous five years.

Eighty-five per cent of that program is being spent in our regions. 

The Black Spot Program has also increased to $150 million annually, with around half of that going to regions.

And I was pleased to announce last Friday $3.5 million to address safety at 15 locations under the Tasmanian 2026-27 Black Spot Program program.

But regional communities need more than health care, housing and roads.

We also need places that bring people together. 

Which brings me to new funding for our Growing Regions Program.

Growing Regions Program

Almost all of you have told me that you wanted another round of the Growing Regions Program to support new, expanded or upgraded capital works projects in regional areas.

So that is what we are doing. In the Budget, we committed $750 million to deliver new rounds of the Growing Regions Program and its urban sibling, the Thriving Suburbs Program.

That’s a total investment in community infrastructure of over $1.7 billion since 2022.

Keep an eye out for new Growing Regions Guidelines which will come out towards the end of July, with the applications expected to open towards the end of the year.

Financial Assistance Grants

And we remain committed to continuing to support the sector through the FA Grant. 

In the Budget, we increased FA Grants by over 5% to $3.6 billion.

Since we came to Government, FA Grants have increased by more than 30 per cent.

We’ve also brought forward payment of 80 per cent – or $2.9 billion - from the 2026–27 allocation - which was paid last Friday - to assist you with immediate cost pressures. 

Inquiry into Local Government Funding and Fiscal Sustainability

The Inquiry into Local Government Funding and Fiscal Sustainability continues.

The evidence being heard by the Committee highlights the complexity of the sector’s roles and responsibilities, its relationships with other tiers of government, and the variety of funding arrangements.

This review has been a long time coming. 

I think you will agree that the sharpened terms of reference provides more scope to examine the issues that you face today. 

While we’re all eager to see the final report, I am heartened by the depth of the Committee’s work to date.

The Committee held hearings in both Townsville and Roma two weeks ago, and I understand they will continue their hearings around Australia in coming weeks. 

Thank you to all of you who prepared submissions or are attending hearings—every voice counts. 

Emergency Management

I now want to touch on emergency management. 

We’ve only recently come out of an intense and demanding higher risk weather season. 

We saw 60 severe weather events impacting more than 190 local government areas with some communities impacted back-to-back.

Significant fires across NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, as well as consecutive and overlapping severe weather systems across Queensland, the NT and WA, which brought widespread flooding. 

I saw firsthand the immense impacts of this on communities - homes and livestock lost, businesses closed, major infrastructure damaged.

These events reinforced what we already know: natural disasters are becoming more complex and more demanding. 

And local government is on the front line of this.

In the season ahead, we will need to grapple with the return of El Nino. We know what that means for Australia: hotter, drier conditions and an elevated bushfire risk. 

While we can’t prevent the weather, we can change how we prepare for it. 

Earlier this month, I briefed the National Emergency Management Ministers’ meeting on reforms the Government is progressing to make disaster recovery funding fairer and faster for communities. 

We know change is needed because disasters are happening more often and hitting harder, and the independent review of disaster funding told us the current funding system simply hasn’t kept up.

Let me be very clear from the outset – under our reforms no council should be worse off.

Our proposed Disaster Recovery Funding Framework is about practical reform: clearer rules, simpler processes and more consistent support so communities can recover with less red tape. 

For councils is means simplifying complex processes and speeding up payments.

It means clearer expectations about what support is available after a disaster, how eligibility is assessed and how recovery funding can be delivered.

And it will reduce duplication and administrative burden, so councils and jurisdictions can spend more time focused on community outcomes and less time navigating complex processes.

Through the reforms, we’re also ramping up risk reduction. 

A new Resilient Infrastructure Scheme will incentivise councils to identify local priorities for betterment and enable councils to upgrade infrastructure as they recover, reducing the damage next time a disaster strikes. 

We will also work with states, local government and the broader community to explore a new risk reduction program. This will build on the success of our $1 billion Disaster Ready Fund, which over the last three years alone, has invested $600 million into over 450 resilience projects. 

We have commenced engagement on the reforms, and I look forward to discussing it with many of you throughout the week.

AusAlert

I’m also focussed on delivering AusAlert – our new emergency warning system that delivers fast, secure and geo-targeted alerts to people in harms’ way. 

AusAlert will be a gamechanger for regional communities, helping to keep everyone safe and informed when it matters most.

Using the latest technology to help authorities deliver near-real-time notifications to precise locations, or scaled up to a national level.

Our community-based trials are a key part of preparing for AusAlert’s introduction, helping us identify and fix any potential issues and raise public awareness.

The Albanese Government is serious about ensuring Australians receive warnings during emergencies to help people make informed decisions and take actions that save lives and properties.

It was very exciting to watch those trials happen across every state and territory over the past couple of weeks, finishing with a cross border test in ACT and NSW in Queanbeyan last Sunday.

The national test will be on 27 July at 2pm Eastern time, followed by the system going live from October this year. 

Many of your communities – particularly those who are often impacted by emergencies - will be interested in this work, and they should head to the AusAlert website for more information as the testing continues.

Fuel

And finally, to fuel. 

Our Government is still working around the clock to alleviate the pressures caused by the global fuel security crisis and shield Australians from the impact where possible.

The $14.8 billion Australian Fuel Security and Resilience package includes the establishment of a permanent Government-owned Australian Fuel Security Reserve of around a billion litres, with a focus on regional stockouts and supply constraints for essential users in the event of another supply crisis.

We continue working with importers to secure our fuel and fertiliser supplies and address regional shortages and critical supply gaps.

We have more fuel onshore now than any time since 2023 - when we started holding our reserves in Australia. 

While the global situation remains uncertain, I want to acknowledge regional councils, and the local government sector more broadly, for providing invaluable insights to your State Governments, and to us through our weekly roundtables and regular updates directly to me and my office.

I was very grateful to meet with ALGA Board representatives from every state and territory each week to hear the perspectives of local governments around the country, and provide direct information about situations as they are unfolding. 

The intel you provided to your Board was fed directly into the broader Government response. 

While things seem stable for now, the impacts on regional tourism, on road maintenance, on critical infrastructure delivery will not go away overnight. 

But I know each and every one of you are doing your best in difficult circumstances. 

Closing

2026 has already thrown us its fair share of curve balls already. But as we did with COVID, we will get through this if we work together.

The Albanese Government remains firmly committed to supporting a strong and sustainable local government sector—and strong, sustainable regions.

I want to thank you all for adjusting so quickly to the changing environment we all found ourselves in over the last four months. 

We will not take our eye off our agenda for regional Australia.

And you’re clearly best placed to champion local growth and opportunity.

We’ll continue to deliver for regional councils, so you can do what you do best: deliver for your local communities.

Thank you for coming to Canberra. I look forward to seeing many of you throughout the week, and at dinner on Thursday night.