‘Low’ rate rise, new pool, organic bin service in Gladstone’s $369m budget

Gladstone council has delivered a budget the mayor has described as striking a “responsible” balance between providing reliable infrastructure with enhanced liveability. Read what it means for your rates.

Gladstone Harbour. Photo contributed.

Gladstone Regional Council has delivered a $369m budget for 2025/26 on Thursday, June 3, with Mayor Matt Burnett announcing an overall rates and charges rise of 4 per cent for the average ratepayer.

That means net average rates, after the “10 per cent discount”, will rise from $3572 to $3,717.

The overall rate increase for the average Gladstone Regional Council residential ratepayer with water and wastewater connections and a residential bin service is 4.05 per cent, demonstrated through this table of fees and charges.

Cr Burnett said council had kept the general rate rise “low” at just 2.5 per cent while commercial and light industrial land users will see a 4 per cent increase in the general rate and major industrial land users will see a 5 per cent increase.

“We are focused on striking the balance between ensuring our community has access to a reliable infrastructure across our roads, water and sewage networks, or ensuring our open spaces and community facilities meet the needs of our growing community,” he said.

Gladstone Region Mayor Matt Burnett.

“As a council we will continue to be proactively responsive to the needs of our community, be responsible in the way we manage a sustainability of our region’s finances and the environment, and have a forward focus on making and improving liability.

“This budget and its theme of proudly delivering results, emphasises our essential services, ensuring the council plays its part in making our region a great place to live, work, invest and play.”

Cr Burnett warned in the budget paper that “like residents and businesses, council is not immune to cost pressures, with our costs of materials and services to support service delivery increasing in many areas above the rate of inflation”.

“We’ll continue to increase investment in community pride initiatives with the focus on our parks, road verges and drainage areas, ensuring they are well maintained at a service level that makes our tribute to proud to call the Gladstone Region home,” he said.

“To achieve this council will invest $21.4 million in the maintenance and operation of our parks across the region, while $28.4 million has been set aside for road maintenance and drainage activities.”
The 2025/26 capital expenditure of $105m includes:

• $51.9 million on upgrades to water and wastewater (sewerage) infrastructure
• $17.7 million on capital roads and drainage projects
• $10.88 million in Sport and Recreation projects
• $5.5 million on Bridges replacements and upgrades
• $2.3 million on Waste Disposal Projects
• $1.2 million on footpath and cycle upgrades.
  

Cr Burnett said the region had received strong funding support from both the state and the federal governments to the value of $27m, bringing the total of external funding received to$41.7m.

“This further demonstrates our effectiveness in seeking funding from other tiers of government and importantly not rate payers,” he said.

Renders and concept designs submitted by Gladstone Regional Council as part of their strategic project to be the developer of the Boyne Tannum Aquatic Recreation Centre. Council has allocated $4m towards the project in the 2025/26 budget. GRC (supplied)

Key capital works projects supported by government funding include:

• $5.6m – Gladstone Wastewater Treatment Plant – Inlet Structure Replacement
• $4.1m – Round Hill Reservoir – Gladstone
• $4.0m – Boyne Tannum Aquatic Centre
• $2.8m – Granite Creek Culvert Upgrade – Betterment Funding
• $2.0m – Deepwater National Park Fire Trail – Stage 1
• $1.4m – Red Rover Road Bridge – NRG Balloon Loop
• •$1.2m – Tableland Road, Calliope – Pavement Rehabilitation

Cr Burnett said council was introducing a garden organics (GO) kerbside bin service.

“To assist with this process, we are calling on the Queensland Government to support the associated infrastructure and the operational costs associated with this positive move for our region’s waste management efforts through the Resource Recovery Boost fund,” he said.

Cr Burnett also again called on the state government to address the “total inadequacy” of the current long-term waste levy targets “as they are South East Queensland centric”.

“Without change to current arrangements, the lack of reimbursement to residential waste costs from the state means council will bear an additional $2m in waste levy costs per year by 2030/31, equating to an additional $7m over the next five years,” he said.

Cr Burnett said council was proud to declare that for the thirteenth consecutive year it had no new borrowings.

“Our focus remains on reducing existing debt with no new borrowings and will see interest bearing debt decline to $74.3m by June 2026, a reduction of $6.4m,” he said.

Due to land valuation differences, the average general residential rate rise of 2.5 per cent will see 40 per cent of properties receive an increase up to 2.5 per cent while 38 per cent of properties will experience an increase up to four per cent, with the balance of residential properties seeing an increase up to the capped amount.

Council said the impact of prior year valuation movements will continue to be mitigated for residential ratepayers by council maintaining the maximum percentage that general rates will increase by 10 per cent.