Anthony Albanese, the Minister for Infrastructure and Local Government, who is also the Member for Grayndler, has announced that the four local Councils in Grayndler will receive a total of $10,915,757 in Financial Assistance Grants from the Rudd Labor Government in this financial year.

Mr Albanese said, “The Rudd Labor Government is supporting local communities by funding vital infrastructure and services.”

“We are providing record funding to local governments to improve local roads, provide libraries, sports grounds, swimming pools, community centres, waste, sewerage and other services.”

Across New South Wales, the Rudd Labor Government is delivering $605 million in Financial Assistance Grants to local councils in 2009-10. The breakdown of grants to the four Grayndler councils was:

• Ashfield $1,276,445


• Canterbury $5,170,063


• Leichhardt $1,353,114


• Marrickville $3,116,135

“This is great news for Grayndler residents. The Councils will be able to spend their grants on local priorities to deliver roads and services for the Inner West community,” said Mr Albanese.

To help the councils deal with the effects of the global recession, the Rudd Government brought forward around a quarter of the 2009-10 grants and paid it to the councils in June.

Mr Albanese said, “The grant is on top of the money available to the local councils from the Government’s Roads to Recovery program ($1,126,534 in 2009-10) and the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program ($6,954,873 since November 2008).”

The level of Financial Assistance Grant for each New South Wales council was recommended by the New South Wales Local Government Grants Commission, a body established under New South Wales legislation.