NEWS
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and his mayoral rival Ray Smith have clashed over how to fund the city’s post-flood rebuilding program.
Outlining a list of delayed or abandoned projects headed by the floating Riverwalk, the Lord Mayor said council had put all projects and expenditure under the microscope to find ways to budget for the $440 million damage bill without putting pressure on ratepayers.
But Mr Smith hit back, saying the axing of just one project, Northern Link, would providce the funds needed and allow other vital projects to go aheas. “There would be no need for Council to cut any project or increase rates if the Lord Mayor had the right priorities for the city,” Mr Smith said
“The Lord Mayor can’t afford to fix our city because of his huge debt and reckless fixation with expensive toll tunnels,” Mr Smith said.
Cr Newman said setting aside Riverwalk for at least two years unless the federal government allocated funding for it, the overall damage bill was reduced to $365 million and would be funded by redirecting existing funds to the flood recovery over three years.
"Deferring projects rather than stinging ratepayers with a large rates rise is the right thing to do, and we remain committed to continuing our responsible management of the city's finances," he said.
"As soon as we get confirmation from the State and Federal Government about what will be covered under disaster relief arrangements, we can put some of these projects back on the table."
Cr Newman said the good news for ratepayers was that they won't have to fund the flood bill via a flood levy or surcharge on their rates. He said the rate rise in the 2011-12 financial year will be kept around CPI. About $382 million has been reallocated in total as the bill is expected to change as the extent of the damage and potential for further underlying damage to emerge becomes clearer. In the 2010-11 financial year $65 million will be redirected from the budget to the flood bill. In 2011-12, $174 million will be put towards the bill and in 2012-13 $143 million will be re-allocated.
Cr Newman said the biggest cuts would come from the roads and transport area, with $226.9 million redirected to the flood damage bill over three financial years
Ray Smith said council would not need to increase rates or cut local projects and services "if the Lord Mayor hadn’t maxed out the Council credit card with a huge, $2.2 billion debt".
"The very first project the Lord Mayor should shelve to help fund our city’s flood recovery is his $1.7 billion pet Northern Link toll tunnel.
"This Lord Mayor clearly has the wrong priorities for our city if he’s prepared to hand over $470 million in ratepayers’ money for another toll tunnel at a time when he’s slashing basic Council services.
"I'm sure Brisbane residents would rather have their services restored, infrastructure repaired and important local roads projects progressed than another unpopular toll tunnel – especially those in baldly-affected areas like Jindalee, Milton, Auchenflower, West End, Rocklea and Graceville."
