Kimberley roads still in disrepair more than two years after cyclone Ellie, according to auditor-general

Roads in the Kimberley destroyed by ex-tropical cyclone Ellie are still in disrepair more than two years after the once-in-a-century flood devastated the region, according to a new report from the auditor-general.

Tabled in Parliament on November 12, the Maintaining Regional Local Roads report assessed if local government entities were effectively managing maintenance of their local roads.

In the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley, many roads in the shire’s limits were in “very poor condition” and roads damaged during extreme weather events were still in disrepair, according to the report.

One such road was the Gee Gully Road floodway.

Parts of the Gee Gully Bridge washed away during cyclone Ellie were still not repaired when the auditor-general’s office toured the Kimberley in January.

According to the report, funding for repairs had not been received and outcomes of submissions remained unknown.

Even if funding was immediately available, work would not be able to be commence before April 2026 due to wet season weather and procurement requirements.

The shire estimated the cost of reinstatement works required is more than $18 million following four significant rainfall events in the last four years, including cyclone Ellie.

While local governments usually fund repairs while waiting on relief funds, the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley’s capacity to fund the extensive repairs was diminished due to the region’s vast road network and small population.

“For instance, the City of Greater Geraldton has a higher population and rate base to help fund a smaller sized network than Shire of Derby-West Kimberley with a smaller rate base to maintain a much larger road network,” the report stated.

“This means in the City of Greater Geraldton there are 19.9 people for every kilometre of local roads while in the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley there are 4.8 people per kilometre.”

The shire is in the process of applying for Federal Government Betterment Funding to improve the Gee Gully Bridge to withstand future flooding events.

The report also found more than 500km of public access gravel roads to Indigenous communities in the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley were not being maintained by the shire, limiting access to emergency services, health care and other basic services.

The shire stopped maintaining these roads between 2003-05, once Australian Government funding to maintain these roads ceased, despite receiving $1.4m in 2023-24 for remote Aboriginal community access roads as part of its Local Government Agreement funding.

In 2021 the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley also estimated that it needed an additional $78.3m to service its maintenance backlog, excluding funding to reconstruct flood-damaged roads.

Auditor-general Caroline Spencer said regional governments like the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley had unique circumstances contributing to the poor conditions of their road networks.

“Road works are inconsistent across the network, with some roads in good condition and well maintained and others not,” she said.

“For local government entities this can mean deteriorating assets, reduced economic activity, higher maintenance costs and unmet community expectations.

“Their roads are often under increasing pressure from heavy haulage and, in some places, subject to more frequent serious weather events causing significant damage that can take years and cost millions to repair.

“Although entities are all undertaking road maintenance, regional local government entities experience difficulties attracting and retaining technical qualified and experienced staff.

“At the same time, the audit found outdated and rigid arrangements for funding local road maintenance can be barriers to local government entities accessing adequate funding and do not reflect or adapt to the diversity of both the roads and the capacity and capability of the local governments maintaining them.”