Steve Jackson, Laurence Bonaventura, Greg Williamson answer Mackay Chamber of Commerce’s questions
Mackay’s first mayoral showdown was a contest of ideas — and some light sledging — as the three competitors revealed how they would tackle homelessness, pumped hydro, rates, traffic, and empty shop fronts.
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Mackay’s first public mayoral debate got off to a fiery start as candidate Steve Jackson declared his “gloves were off” before slamming his competitors as boring, tired and “out of ideas”.
Laurence Bonaventura, an incumbent councillor hoping to become the next mayor of Mackay Regional Council, reacted with a bemused smile whereas incumbent mayor Greg Williamson kept a still face.
The three went head to head at Rydges Mackay on Wednesday afternoon at the Mackay Chamber of Commerce hosted Q&A, where each had five minutes for opening speeches before being asked about rates, infrastructure spending, how they envisioned the future of the region, their stance on pumped hydro, housing the homeless, fixing the CBD, and traffic woes in the Northern Beaches.
‘Don’t talk to me about rates being too high’
Mr Jackson closed his opening speech by swiping at recent rate rises which included 1.5 per cent in 2021-22, 2.5 per cent in 2022-23, and 3.8 per cent in 2023-24 with forecasts showing a further 10.6 per cent in rises over the next decade.
He stuck to those figures throughout the debate in criticising his opponents, inferring the outgoing council dug into ratepayers’ pockets to counter budget blowouts, a label he applied to the $8.7m Seaforth waterpark and the now-halted $3.75m refurbishment of 8 River St.
Mr Williamson retorted the forecast was just that, a forecast that showed what it looked like “if we want to put everything into the tin”, adding that council had kept rate rises at or below the CPI.
“When we started in 2016, they (the rates) certainly were the worst in Queensland,” Mr Williamson said.
“We’re not anywhere near that now, we’re halfway through the pack and we’ve done that (for) eight years (via) an average rate rise of less than 1.6 per cent.
“So don’t talk to me about rates being too high or being too dear.”
Tell us how you really feel about hydro
While most of the Mackay Chamber of Commerce-hosted debate allowed candidates to expand on their answers, there was a section where they could only respond with a green thumbs up or red thumbs down.
This led to an awkward moment when the candidates were asked if they would like to see the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro scheme go ahead in the Pioneer Valley.
Mr Bonaventura voted yes while Mr Jackson and Mr Williamson voted no.
There was also disagreement over whether the region’s youth should have a curfew with only Mr Jackson voting yes.
But they all agreed recidivist juvenile offenders should have to wear ankle bracelets, and that the region’s homelessness crisis was getting worse.
How will you tackle the rising rates of homelessness?
Mr Jackson said the region must unlock more land to build affordable housing and council had to work with agencies like CASA to tackle crisis accommodation.
Mr Bonaventura said the region’s 0.5 per cent growth rate was “nowhere near enough” to curb homelessness with the working class becoming homeless at a faster rate than any other cohort.
He said while tackling homelessness was a state government responsibility, it was the council’s duty to work hard with all levels of government to find a solution as the crisis was only getting worse.
Mr Williamson said the recent Local Disaster Management Group activation revealed there were 60 to 70 people sleeping on the streets every night with another 400 to 600 technically homeless.
He said the solution lied in activating the whole housing chain including incentivising people to build on the 4800 residential blocks that were ready to go trigger a trickle-down effect that would boost stock at the “bottom end of the market” and up rental supply.
He said the current climate made selling homes profitable, with the region’s rental supply dropping from 13,800 properties before Covid-19 to 10,000 homes now.
Mr Williamson added the council had given the state government 28 blocks for social housing projects but nothing had “come to fruition”.
Mr Bonaventura said while he disagreed 28 was accurate, the “biggest problem at the moment” to putting houses on blocks was “there is no one to build” as builders were going bankrupt right across Queensland.
The thorn in everyone’s side: An empty CBD and underused bluewater riverfront
All three candidates were asked how they would revitalise the CBD and their thoughts on the Waterfront Priority Development Area along the Pioneer River.
Mr Jackson said the council must consult with landlords to re-beautify the CBD and turn upper floors into residential accommodation.
“Well Steve we’ve done that,” Mr Williamson responded, adding the incoming 2016 council had merged three town planning schemes, which had not been updated since 2008, to relax restrictions and make it “very, very possible for people to live above businesses” on Sydney and Victoria Sts.
Mr Williamson said the greatest issue was 40 per cent of CBD properties were not locally-owned with council having no power to stop land banking.
He said laws restricted the council from increasing rates on a particular property as a deterrence, adding many regional councils had pleaded with the state government to intervene “because we’re not Robinson Crusoe here”.
Mr Bonaventura agreed with Mr Williamson but said an alternative way of viewing the problem could be to amalgamate empty properties and build higher with ground floors designated to shops and upper floors to residential living.
Regarding the riverfront, Mr Bonaventura said he was “very reluctant” to support spending more on upgrades as they had failed to encourage developers to build projects as was the intended purpose.
Mr Jackson said he would “sidestep” making a comment on the Waterfront PDA as he was not a “lifer” in council unlike his opponents, and he would instead surround himself with “smart people” before forming a view.
Mr Williamson said the council must be innovative to get people back into the CBD with Mackay having the highest rate of online shoppers in regional Australia, adding this was why it was vital to keep the PDA project “alive and running”.
“If we shut that down, that is the death knell for the CBD,” he said.
Do we tighten our belts or spend for the future?
Mr Bonaventura’s answers shared a theme of spending responsibly and keeping debt to a minimum as he raised the importance of making sure current infrastructure could handle growth, and that there were funds ready for major projects like an overdue waste transfer station in the Northern Beaches.
“It’s something that was on the agenda back in 2012,” Mr Bonaventura said, adding that while it was necessarily put on the backburner when the mining boom crashed in 2016, it was time to revisit it.
He said the council must make “hard decisions” on spending but he was “certainly prepared” to do it.
Mr Williamson urged the room to consider debt was “not the devil here”.
He said it allowed the council to deliver infrastructure and “spreads the load” onto future ratepayers.
Mr Jackson did not specifically address debt but said his team would lower rates, double the number of dump vouchers, and work on joint ventures with the private sector to encourage development.
Chaos or robust debate?
Mr Jackson used the debate as an opportunity to highlight Mr Bonaventura and Mr Williamson’s involvement in a council team that he said was characterised by “bickering and squabbling in chambers”, attacks on each other, and “chaos, disunity and dysfunction”.
He said the referrals of councillors to the Office of the Independent Assessor showed a “lack of respect from all sides” of the council table.
Mr Williamson retorted that it was false to call the council disunited and said while they had “robust discussions at times”, the council’s success over the past eight years proved the formula worked.
He added his leadership was about being firm but fair and he could guarantee his style would not waver in the next term.
Stay put in the Northern Beaches if you want to fix the traffic woes
The traffic woes of Northern Beaches residents were once again under scrutiny as Mr Jackson said the 80s or 90s was when major infrastructure decisions should have been made and it was now time to build an overpass at the intersection of Mackay-Bucasia Rd and Golf Links Rd.
He said he would also love to see a bridge built from Slade Point Rd to Blacks Beach, adding there was an opportunity to create a run from the Ring Rd at Glenella through to the Northern Beaches.
Mr Williamson countered they had to be “realistic” about costs, pointing out that Mackay-Bucasia Rd was state-owned.
He said the council regularly fought with the state to no avail, with the situation complicated by the fact traffic congestion was only during peak hours.
He suggested signalising the roundabout at Golf Links Rd, adding that creating a bypass or duplicate road would only shift the problem, not solve it.
Mr Bonaventura echoed Mr Williamson’s thoughts, saying that suggestions to build detours connecting to Dawson Boulevard in Rural View, or from Rosewood Dr in Rural View to Norwood Parade in Beaconsfield, would still spill traffic onto Mackay-Bucasia Rd.
He proposed opening more industrial land in the Northern Beaches so services such as car mechanics could eliminate the need for residents to drive into the city.
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