Jack Dempsey and George Seymour join forces

Two Wide Bay mayors have joined forces to further their shared goals and highlight their struggles as the region grapples with a population boom, crime and housing crisis, and shrinking state and federal funds.

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour (left) and Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey (right) came together to share their shared insights into meeting future challenges together.

Two Wide Bay mayors have joined forces to further their shared goals and highlight their struggles as the Wide Bay Burnett battles a population boom, crime and housing crisis, and shrinking state and federal funds.

Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey and Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour held a joint presser on Thursday, December 7 to talk about the shared future of their local government areas.

Both commented on how rising populations triggered by migration from interstate and metropolitan areas had placed pressure on infrastructure and other resources like housing and education.

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour (left) and Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey (right) came together to share their shared insights into meeting future challenges as a team.

“We will now have a population of over 250,000, so Wide Bay is the largest population mass outside of south east Queensland,” Mr Dempsey said.

He said funding arrangements between the three levels of government had seen a negative shift in opportunities, forcing regional councils away from the previous expectation of “roads and rubbish” to everything “from cradle to grave”.

“Currently out of the Australian tax dollar, 83 per cent of that tax dollar goes to the federal government, 3 per cent goes to local government in rates, fees and charges, and the other 14 per cent is collected by the state,” he said.

George Seymour and Jack Dempsey say funding into the region’s eco-tourism industry was a key goal for the future, including backing K’Gari, Mon Repos and the turtle hatching and whale watching experiences.

“We get less than one per cent back to local governments, of that we also supply over 77 per cent of local roads and 33 per cent of the infrastructure needs,” Mr Dempsey said.

“In the last 20 years what we have also seen is the movement, the costs shifting, from the state government onto local governments increase by over 378 per cent.”

Both men agreed the largest issue was ensuring the lifestyle that drew people to the Fraser Coast and Bundaberg region was maintained.

Mr Seymour commented on the fact the two councils were typically competitors when seeking state and federal funding, and encouraging tourists into the towns.

Funding for eco-tourism is a key goal for the future, including backing K’Gari, Mon Repos and the turtle hatching and whale watching experiences. Picture by Luke Marsden.

“We share challenges and we share opportunities, and it is by working together that we can face those challenges and grasp those opportunities better,” he said.

He said by advocating as a team the councils hoped to bring a louder voice to state and federal funding campaigns and showcase what working together could achieve.

“The push for funding from other levels is never ending, and we think that there are a lot of infrastructure challenges that we can work together to achieve, as well as ongoing operational funding,” Mr Seymour said.

Environmental tourism was high on both men’s lists for possible funding injections, as they commented on the shared demand the region had for turtles, whales, national parks, K’gari and the Great Barrier Reef.

Originally published as Jack Dempsey and George Seymour join forces