Reports Gympie council, Mary Valley Rattler agree to cancel debt on $1.1m loan

Big changes are looming for Gympie’s major tourist attraction the Mary Valley Rattler amid reports it has struck a deal with Gympie Regional Council over its future.

Almost $1m in debt owed to Gympie Regional Council will be wiped from the books under a deal reportedly struck between it and the Mary Valley Rattler to transfer control from the council.

Under the terms of the agreement, revealed as part of a report to be presented to councillors at Wednesday’s meeting, the council has agreed “in principal” to forgive the remainder of its loan to the heritage train as part of a suite of changes.

These include transferring the council’s rail assets, excluding the locomotive and select land, to the Rattler Railway Company for “nil value” and providing further funding of $400,000 per year over four years for operations and maintenance.

The railway company’s constitution will be amended to remove the council’s controlling interests through its “foundation member” status.

The $1.1m loan was given to the Rattler amid its troubled return to the tracks in 2018, when the cost of reviving the heritage venture blew out from an expected $10.8m to $17.1m.

Gympie Regional Council has reportedly struck a deal to forgive the remaining $900,000 of a controversial $1.1m loan extended to the heritage train as part of its resurrection in 2018.

The latest financial reports show it still owed $900,000 on the loan as of June 30, 2021.

This accounted for more than half of the Rattler’s total liabilities.

RRC general manager Linda Barry said, “nothing has been finalised, but we are committed to working closely with Council to achieve a sustainable future outcome”.

“As the Gympie region’s most well-known tourism asset that helps drive visitors to experience the wider Gympie (and) Mary Valley region, council’s support for the Rattler is in fact an investment in economic development for the region,” Mrs Barry said.

“The support we receive from council has to be seen in the context of a totally disrupted business environment over the previous three years that could never have been anticipated in the original forecasting.”

These disruptions included bushfires, the Covid pandemic and floods.

Rattler general manager Linda Barry said the heritage tourist venture has been impacted by “exceptional” disruptions including bushfires, floods, and the Covid pandemic.

“Even today there is barely 30 per cent of international holiday travellers coming to Queensland compared to 2019,” she said.

“These set of circumstances are exceptional.

“We have been working closely with council to put together a sustainable plan to ensure the continuing running of the Rattler, because it benefits so many other operators in the Gympie region.”

Council’s acting CEO David Lewis said he did “not wish to pre-empt or lead any discussion around this matter before it is presented to council”.

“It is a conversation for elected officials,” Mr Lewis said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the Mary Valley Rattler provides a crucial tourism operation for this region and is responsible for injecting significant funds into our local economy.”

A controversial letter of comfort from the council agreeing to cover any of the Rattler’s financial shortfalls has expired.

The report is being tabled as part of a recommendation for councillors to approve the $400,000 contribution to the RRC for the 2022-23 financial year.

Originally published as Reports Gympie council, Mary Valley Rattler agree to cancel debt on $1.1m loan