Budget puts major items on ice

Major projects including a new regional visitors’ centre, a replacement for the demolished Bunbury Timber Jetty and decked parking in the CBD have been cut from the Bunbury City Council budget.

The projects, totalling more than $13 million, have been left out of the $70 million, 2013-14 budget and deferred for 10 years.

The council adopted the budget last week.

The trimmed budget is in stark contrast to the $82 million, 2012-13 budget and $84 million, 2011-12 budget.

Bunbury Mayor David Smith expressed disappointment at the number of items being cut, saying it prevented the council from trying to seek external funding from State and Federal governments as well as other sources.

The Mayor voted against the adoption of the budget last week and said the projects which had been cut were not sufficiently debated.

“Effectively we got to a line item and everything below that was cut and deferred until 2022,” he said.

Bunbury Timber Jetty Environment and Conservation Society president Phil Smith said he was disappointed the proposal for a replacement jetty had been dropped.

“We are coming up to a Federal election and we can’t push for a funding commitment,” he said.

“It’s very hard to keep pushing when people will say ‘see you in 10 years time’.”

Mr Smith said most of the society’s members may not live to see the matter debated again in 10 years.

The Mayor said it would not just be jetty society members disappointed the project was left out of the budget.

“We are a port city and we have no jetty,” he said.

“I think even some people who were opposed to retaining the jetty would have liked to see it replaced.”

Projects deferred include a new regional visitors’ centre ($7 million), decked parking in the CBD ($4.7m), infrastructure for a wastewater recycling project ($3.6m), replacement jetty ($3m), refurbishment of Eastman Pavilion ($2m), Hay Park hockey stadium extensions ($1.4m), a pavilion for netball and athletics ($1.2m), a replacement for Forrest Park Pavilion ($1m) and a Bunbury Airport extension ($200,000).

Major projects which survived the cuts included a Hay Park multisports pavilion, the continued expansion of the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre, a road construction program and significant funding for infrastructure such as footpaths and street lighting.