$1.6m Black Summer bushfires grant used for Wintergarden Theatre refurbishment

An already controversial multimillion-dollar rebuild of the Wintergarden Theatre has landed in hotter water amid revelations part of the price tag was coming from a surprise funding stream.

A costs report intended to quell rumours swirling around the refurbishment of the historic Wintergarden Theatre has spawned further controversy as it was revealed the project was partly funded by a federal government bushfire recovery grant.

A costs report intended to quell rumours swirling around the refurbishment of the historic Wintergarden Theatre has spawned further controversy after it revealed the project was partly funded by a federal government bushfire recovery grant.

In November’s Bundaberg Regional Council meeting, Councillor Greg Barnes tabled a motion requesting a cost breakdown of the Wintergarden Theatre refurbishment, part of council’s civic and cultural precinct initiative.

Mr Barnes said he wanted to address “unusually consistent” information he had received from the public about unforeseen costs of $130,000 to power a generator for works required by the project.

The report tabled in Tuesday’s council meeting confirmed the rumours, saying that due to scaffolding for the works being close to high voltage power lines on Woongarra St, safety regulations required Ergon Energy to shut down the section of the power lines supplying the theatre and replace the supply with an onsite generator.

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The report tabled in Tuesday's council meeting confirmed a $130,000 fee had been paid to Ergon Energy for costs associated with an onsite generator required for the Wintergarden Project works.

Total costs for the “high voltage power bypass, including the on site generation” are estimated at $130,000 in the report.

The full expenditure budget for the project given in the report is $7.4m, far in excess of the $5m tender for the fit-out of the theatre into a revitalised community hub awarded to Bundaberg firm Murchie Constructions in April 2023.

The report lists $1.6m of the total expenditure budget as being provided by grant funding, meaning council is funding the project to the tune of $5.8m.

Mr Barnes told the meeting he had become aware that the funding came from the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program, a federal government grant which according to its published guidelines is intended to “support recovery resilience of communities impacted by the 2019-20 bushfires” and “build stronger communities by supporting social, economic and built environment recovery”.

The Wintergarden Theatre is located 30km from where residents living near Woodgate and Buxton were forced to evacuate their homes in 2019.

Mr Barnes noted that the only areas in the Bundaberg region affected by the 2019-20 bushfires were Woodgate (pictured), Buxton and Gregory River.

Noting that the only areas in the Bundaberg region affected by the 2019-20 bushfires were Woodgate, Buxton and Gregory River, Mr Barnes said he was “at a loss as to how $1.6m of federal money was applied for the Wintergarden in the heart of the Bundaberg CBD”.

“I would have thought that if we were going to access this grant that that money would have gone into the southern coastal communities.”

After Mr Dempsey noted that “all of the criteria for the grant have to be met through a thorough process”, council voted unanimously to note the information in the report, and Mr Barnes indicated he would move a motion at the next council meeting in January 2024 requesting councillors be provided with a copy of the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants application.

Woodgate community spokeswoman Pauline Greer said she was “surprised” to learn that the grant had been used to fund a development in the Bundaberg CBD, saying the funds could have been used for an evacuation centre in Woodgate for cases where the road to Childers (where the evacuation centre for the region is located) is cut off as was nearly the case in the recent Goodwood bushfire.

Ms Greer said residents had made three unsuccessful applications through the Qld government’s Gambling Community Benefit Fund for a $30,000 LED sign to display messages during emergencies, with the current reliance on social media not always feasible due to poor mobile connectivity in the area.

In addition to the $1.6m grant for the Wintergarden Theatre project, Council has obtained a $1.3m grant for NBN power cubes to maintain telecommunications connectivity during emergencies.

CEO Steve Johnston said Bundaberg council had obtained an additional $1.3m from the bushfire recovery grant for NBN power cubes to maintain telecommunications connectivity during emergencies, and noted the Burnett Mary Regional Group had received $3.2m in funding for fire mitigation and resilience in various areas including Woodgate.

Council had also recently provided $10,000 towards an emergency generator for the Woodgate Club.

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Mr Johnston said the $130,000 generator fees did not constitute a cost overrun for the project.

“As per the breakdown provided in the report, the project remains within budget,” he said.