Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Barnaby Joyce today opened Round Nine of the Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program (RAUP).
The RAUP provides Federal Government funding for airports in areas of Australia officially designated as remote. So far, the RAUP has provided $70 million for 340 airstrip projects.
Round Nine will fund a further $15 million in airstrip upgrades, with grants on offer between $5000 and $3 million.
Projects funded in the past have included:
- $500,000 to repair and reseal Leigh Creek
- $1.1 million for an NT-wide aerodrome fencing program
- $550,000 to upgrade Cape Barren Island, Tas
- $500,000 for lighting and asphalt works at Tennant Creek, NT
- $1.8 million to stabilise the main runway at Flinders Island
- $1.5 million to reconstruct Bathurst Island
Queensland senator and chair of the Standing Committee on Regional Rural Affairs and Transport Susan McDonald welcomed the continued funding and said the vast distances people had to travel in remote areas meant local airstrips are as important as local roads.
“In addition to bringing in supplies during floods, people flying to bigger cities or ensuring urgent medical care can arrive and depart safely, airstrips are hugely important hubs in Northern Australia and part of day-to-day existence for communities,” she said.
Eligible airports need to be classified as remote or very remote under the 2016 Australian Statistical Geographic Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Area.
Applications for funding opened today and will remain open until 17 March. Grant guidelines and application process are available on the Federal Government's Business website.