Hinterland anger boils over during budget debate
A heated debate over Sunshine Coast Council’s worsening budget position has exposed tensions between coastal and hinterland divisions, with western councillors accusing the chamber of continuing to prioritise beachfront spending while communities west of the Bruce Highway missed out.
Tensions heightened during debate on Budget Review 2 at the ordinary meeting on February 26, after finance staff outlined a worsening financial position, including a projected $13.3 million deficit this financial year and a forecast $19.2 million deficit next year under current assumptions.
While the review itself was ultimately carried, Cr David Law voted against it and used the debate to deliver a pointed criticism of council’s spending priorities, particularly the lack of investment flowing west of the Bruce Highway.
Cr Law said residents in his division had been asking for more for a long time and were now being told council had to “scale back”, despite already receiving comparatively little.
He pointed to the deferral of the long-awaited Nambour civic project involving the library and the Eddie De Vere and Fred Murray buildings, saying about $50 million in planned investment had effectively been pushed out to 2030, 2031 and 2032.
He said the hinterland had been asked to tighten its belt: “On the cusp of having the most significant investments this century in the hinterland and in Nambour taken away from under our noses just about at the point of commencement,” he said.
He said the frustration was heightened by the fact that, in the same budget review, most of the major increases and bring-forwards were for projects “literally along the beachfront”.
The only project he said came close to the hinterland in the review was work associated with the Nambour landfill.
“I’m finding it increasingly difficult to see that we are the place where you can bring your rubbish and bring all your recycling,” Cr Law said. “The hinterland would like a little bit more than being the rubbish dump for the region.
“So yes, I understand the budget problem very clearly, but the notion of scaling back when you’ve already got so little is unbelievably frustrating. I’m grateful that we’ve got a better handle on our (Budget) reality, but the reality just is doubly worse when you’re starting from such a small catching up position.”
Cr Winston Johnston backed that argument, saying the hinterland had already copped real reductions, not just deferrals.
He pointed to the gravel road sealing program, which he said had been increased to $8 million previously before being cut back to $4.5 million this financial year and remaining there next year.
“That was a cut right now for the people in the hinterland where all the gravel roads are,” he said.
Cr Johnston challenged coastal councillors to make equivalent sacrifices in their own areas if they were serious about cutting capital expenditure.
“If you’re really serious about cutting capital expenditure you’re going to have to do it in your own divisions,” he said.
“The amount of money that we spend because we believe it’s essential in the coastal section is enormous.”
He said the purpose of local government was to deliver services and facilities of a comparable standard across the region, and “at present that’s not happening”.
But that argument drew a firm response from Cr Joe Natoli, who defended the budget settings and said coastal councillors were dealing with the extra infrastructure burden that came with growth.
He said it was unfair to suggest the coast was being favoured, arguing the coast was carrying the pressure of higher densities and population growth while hinterland areas sought to preserve their lifestyle.
“It is reflective of the way that we as a coast are growing and the growing pains that we’re facing,” Cr Natoli said.
He said he was “constantly looking at ways” to reduce costs in his own division and would be happy for money to go to the hinterland if possible, and said all councillors were trying to manage the region’s pressures.
The broader budget debate also revealed differing views on how serious the financial challenge had become.
Cr Ted Hungerford said he was not surprised by the deficit and warned council had been spending too much for too long.
“This is going to be a long, hard haul,” he said. “This is going to require us to have courage, focus, and discipline.”
He said council needed to reduce expenditure, rebuild cash reserves and prepare the community for cutbacks, warning that failing to act now would impose a much higher cost later.
Others took a more conciliatory line. Cr Taylor Bunnag described the situation as “not a budget fix” but “a budget repair”, while Div 3 Cr Tim Burns urged councillors to lift their sights beyond divisional interests and think as a region.
Mayor Rosanna Natoli echoed that theme, saying the pressure had “played out in real time” but urging councillors to keep “the future of the Sunshine Coast first and foremost”.