Sunshine Coast councillor slams mayor’s conduct in parking debate
A Sunshine Coast councillor has claimed a proposal put forward by Mayor Rosanna Natoli, supported by her husband and Councillor Joe Natoli, “sits poorly” amid a heated paid parking debate.
Sunshine Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sunshine Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Sunshine Coast councillor has claimed a proposal put forward by Mayor Rosanna Natoli, supported by her husband and councillor Joe Natoli, “sits poorly” amid a heated paid parking debate.
The parking changes proposed to the Sunshine Coast Council at the ordinary meeting on Thursday recommended the paid parking at the Red Bill Lane Car Park and Sunshine Coast Parade Car Park be extended to include early mornings, evenings and weekends.
Both sites in the Maroochydore city centre are earmarked for development in the future, with all revenue from parking fees currently feeding into the council’s general revenue.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said businesses in the Maroochydore centre would be disadvantaged by the extended paid parking hours, putting forward an amended motion to remove the extensions.
Ms Natoli instead said she supported the proposal to keep the sites charging $7 per day for parking, which was approved in May.
“When things are tough, let’s not make them tougher by adding weekends and evenings to the mix,” Ms Natoli said.
“This motion will agree with the charges but not extending that to include early mornings, evenings and weekends.”
Councillor David Law said he was concerned by Ms Natoli’s amended motion being made without council consultation, claiming he had never seen a mayor present a motion in that way during his time as a councillor.
“It feels really wrong in this scenario where I was expecting a discussion about whether or not we agreed to change a different motion,” Mr Law said.
Mr Law then pointed to the seconder of the motion, which was Councillor Joe Natoli.
“I just have a really poor sense that this was then seconded by Councillor Natoli,” Mr Law said.
“That just sits really poorly with me.”
Mr Natoli stood by the amended proposal to not extend the paid parking to 6am to 6pm on weekdays and weekends, stating it would hurt local businesses.
“I’m not sure what the reference in regards to me seconding this motion, seeing I’m the divisional councillor for this part of the Sunshine Coast,” Mr Natoli said.
Mr Natoli said the amended proposal would mean $5000 in lost revenue.
“This incentive is worth about $5000,” Mr Natoli said.
“It is not worth much but when you consider people could potentially lose their homes from making early adopted decisions, especially the gymnasium that has really struggled with being able to deal with even one hour free carparking.”
The amended proposal was ultimately accepted by the council despite councillors Ted Hungerford, Taylor Bunnag and Mr Law all voting in opposition.
Councillor Winston Johnston went home sick so did not vote.
Mrs Natoli, Mr Natoli and councillors Jenny Broderick, Terry Landsberg, Tim Burns, Christian Dickson and Maria Suarez were in favour.
NAMED: Man allegedly kidnaps woman, punches driver in head
A man has been charged with allegedly kidnapping a woman and repeatedly punching an elderly man in the head while trying to steal his car to escape police during wild scenes on the Sunshine Coast last night. SEE THE VIDEO.
$190m in works awarded for Borumba, including design of two huge worker camps
Three major works packages have been awarded for the Borumba Pumped Hydro developments, marking a significant next stage of the the 2000 MW renewable energy project.