A proposed update to Narromine Shire Council’s heavy vehicle contributions policy has sparked debate over whether rising road maintenance costs are being shared fairly between industry, ratepayers and freight operators.
The proposal updates a policy introduced in 2020 and would change the way heavy vehicle contributions are calculated, increasing costs for many existing and all new extractive industry developments.
Narromine Shire Mayor Ewen Jones said councils were increasingly struggling to maintain roads carrying traffic volumes and vehicle weights they were never designed to accommodate…