Bundaberg Regional Council axes development $430,000 fee

A regional councillor has told ratepayers “there was never a good time to forgo a half-million dollars” as the council did just that, dropping a six figure charge levied on a new port development.

Bundaberg councillor May Mitchell (right) has told ratepayers “there was never a good time to forgo a half-million dollars” as the council did just that, dropping a six figure charge levied on a new port development.

Councillor May Mitchell has assured the Bundaberg public she has their best interest at heart after backing a vote to veto more than $430,000 in fees for a development at the Port of Bundaberg.

At the ordinary Bundaberg Regional Council meeting on Monday, Cr Mitchell assured ratepayers the decision to forego the fee would benefit the entire community.

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Developer Okara Pty Ltd, who wants to build a storage and warehousing development at the Buss St land worth $4.2m, had asked the council for its infrastructure fees of $430,281.29 to be cut in full.

Ms Mitchell said there was “never a good time to forgo nearly half a million dollars” but backed the decision because she believed the development would “provide long term benefits for Bundaberg”.

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She assured ratepayers she had their concerns in mind amid the rising cost of living when voting to forgo the fee

She said the council had supported a range of community and sporting events in the past acknowledging the funding behind the support often came from ratepayers, with one in four living on pensions.

“Many ratepayers are financially burdened because of the cost of living, mortgages, and interest rates,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Even though I will be voting to forgo this significant amount, I’d like the ratepayers to rest assure that in the next budget ensuring rates and charges are affordable for all ratepayers will be my priority.”

The discount was sought under the council’s Projects of Regional Significance scheme.

The Port of Bundaberg is expected to benefit from the boost.

Okara had argued the fee should be cut as “the development provides significant economic development benefits including increasing the capabilities to export and import materials through the Port of Bundaberg”.

This was despite the project failing to meet the cost criteria for the scheme, which required a development to have a value of building work of at least $15m and create 50 or more direct local full-time equivalent job.

Okara’s development is costed at little more than $4m and would generate only 15 new full-time jobs.

However the staff report tabled at the meeting said project would meet a second criteria in providing a “special benefit to the region”, including expanding the port which was one of the council’s “key economic infrastructure advocacy priorities”.

Ms Mitchell shared this view.

“Okara is seizing an opportunity to increase the export and import capacity through the Bundaberg Port,” Ms Mitchell said during the meeting.

“That decision comes with both risk and reward and Okara is taking on all the risk.”

The council voted unanimously to approve the decision to forgo the fee.

Originally published as Bundaberg Regional Council axes development $430,000 fee