Hervey Bay Gossip

Our current mayor says the latest budget is a “financially responsible outcome”. A mayoral candidate … Jim McKellar … describes it as “a callous disregard for the financial plight of many Fraser Coast residents”.

Who is right?

Well maybe Jim has a point because Council was not able to spend all the money it allocated in the last budget … there may be as much as $30 million left unspent. Yet the latest budget takes an additional $10 million dollars from ratepayers … many of whom are struggling to survive financially.

Sure the Council may be looking at building up its cash reserves but when so many businesses and individuals in Hervey Bay, Maryborough and beyond are struggling to survive in these difficult times now is hardly the time to be making the struggle even harder.

Perhaps it’s time our Councillors realized that governments spend money in tough times and save money in the good times. They do it to hasten the recover and it’s the fiscally responsible thing to do. It’s a lesson that our Council needs to learn because if they don’t this area will never recover.

So the State budget is out and Hervey Bay has not been entirely forgotten.

Health
Hervey Bay and Bundaberg will be sharing $5.6 million towards the construction of an oral health clinic in each centre.

Environment
$1.8 million will be spent on various environmental programmes in the Wide Bay Burnett region including irrigation distribution in the Lower Mary Catchment area.

While that money may not be spent in Hervey Bay anything that’s done to improve the Mary River has a positive impact on Hervey Bay’s fishing fleet.

Education
$3.5 million will be shared by Hervey Bay Special School and St Helens State School. The money will go towards the construction of new classrooms.

Community Projects
$249,000 will be spent on upgrading the Hervey Bay Recreation Centre and $940,000 will go towards the construction of the new Craignish auxiliary fire and rescue station.

Other spending that will benefit Hervey Bay includes $57.6 million dollars to upgrade and expand the tilt train fleet with the work being carried out in Maryborough and a further $97 million dollars for the ongoing construction of suburban passenger trains at EDI.

$4.7 million dollars will also be spent on upgrading the Maryborough to Cooloola Road – the most direct route from Hervey Bay to Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay and a road that has been in dire need of an upgrade for some time.