Ian Petersen fires back at ex-mayor Mick Curran’s rate rise criticism

Former councillor Ian Petersen has fired back at criticism from former mayor Mick Curran over council’s latest rate hike, saying this council had new choice as the ousted council had the region’s rates ‘headed for the stratosphere’

Former councillor Ian Petersen (right) has shot back at former mayor Mick Curran’s crisiticism of the council’s decision to raise rates in this year’s budget.

Letter to the Editor

Mick Curran is having a whinge about the rate rise. What a colossal hide!

It was on his watch that the seeds of the council’s financial disaster were sown.

He is the one who spent all the reserves. He is the one who wasted ratepayers money on projects with huge, ongoing, whole of life costs.

He is the one who left a legacy of neglected maintenance, committing the current council to massive costs to catch up.

I don‘t like rate rises any more than Mick Curran. That is why, throughout his term, I constantly warned that reckless spending would inevitably lead to higher rates. He chose to ignore my advice as he blithely pursued the folly of three deficits in his four years with a projection of at least another four in a row to follow.

Yes Dave (Freeman), I know I am old fashioned, but I did enjoy those years when we had prudent councils, and low or even no rate rises

The council’s rate rise has come under fire from the community, but Mr Petersen says it was left with no other choice thanks to how the council’s financial situation has been run in past years.

Sadly, my predictions have proven correct and now we all have to pay the price, while Mick Curran whinges and attempts to blame the current mayor and councillors.
Rates should always be under scrutiny, as they are now, by the community and also, I am sure, by the council. But the current level is far more palatable than what we would have seen with a continuation of the previous regime, whose trajectory for rates was heading for the stratosphere.

Ian Petersen, Gympie (abridged)

(Mr Petersen shared this letter on social media).

Originally published as Ian Petersen fires back at ex-mayor Mick Curran’s rate rise criticism