We’re not too pleased with the latest news on the Water Park, there are too many unanswered questions and we’d like some answers.
Firstly, it has been a few years since we were at school but last time we checked 12 minus 5 equals seven are we not correct? So where is the remaining $7 million coming from? WBW Profits? We doubt it. Perhaps there is a new accounting technique that can make the extra vanish?
Or.. our water rates are going to go right through the roof this year? Yep, thats the most plausible answer.
But we digress.. how about we ask why the sudden rush to get the facility built? There was no rush to decide a site and certainly no public consultation in that process. Why do they need to have “something” completed by June next year? What about what the public thinks of the concept? Will we even be shown their ideas before they start construction? So far we are unaware of any real public consultation - pretty poor considering they are hoping we are going to patronise it!
There is plenty more we could ask.. and we will!
At lease Mick and the current council are doing something with it. Under Ted and Hervey Bay City Council the thing was forgotten about (or more likely for political purposes - stalled). I think the haste has something to do with the project needing to be underway during this term of parliament, or the funding lapses.
Well, we might say Mick and his crew are doing something with it but apparently its WBW’s baby and they are going to rush it through. This is the part that concerns us as if it was a council project there would at least be some accountability to the community.
WBW is a corporate entity which seemingly does not have such controls placed upon it. We may be wrong but there is no reason why funding should lapse if the project is started within the requested time frame.
And we’ll ask the question again - why the indecent haste? If there was such an urgency why didn’t anyone jump up and down while Mayor Ted was at the helm until the wheels started rolling again? And if they didn’t think it was important then(where’s the results of the feasibility study??) why would the same councilors be supporting it now??