THE multi-billion-dollar repair bill needed to fix Australia’s rural roads has been highlighted as a critical investment in the viability and safety of the nation’s agricultural industries following the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) State of the Assets report released at the National Press Club in Canberra earlier this week.

 More than $22 billion is needed just to bring the failing network to a safe and adequate capacity with the report identifying 23 per cent of the 678,000-kilometre road network as being in a poor condition or having poor function or poor capacity, with billions of dollars of investment needed.