Bundaberg Regional Council will deliver its budget on Friday, June 28.
Many will be eager to see the cost breakdowns after it was revealed the local government area is in a $17 million dollar deficit and was needing to cut back on non-essentials.
The Member for Bundaberg and representatives of Queensland’s trade unions have met again calling for no forced redundancies as well as the continued investment of apprentices and trainees.
“Last time we called on the Council to make a public commitment to job security, all we got was a run around statement that provided no confidence to employees,” said Bundaberg MP Tom Smith.
“We are calling on councillors to again, give every single Council employee the right to know what is in Friday’s budget when it comes to their job security in this town.
“At the end of the day, the councillors are elected to provide the resources and the services that our community needs, the services delivered by Council employees, apprentices, and trainees. If Council cut those positions, if they sack those workers, then those services are lost to our community.”
Australian Workers’ Union Organiser Bronson Thomas said the lack of reassurance from Council in recent weeks was worrying employees.
“Council should be investing in local apprenticeships and traineeships, and their workers more broadly,” he said.
While Mr Smith added the calls were not coming from out of the blue and they had been tipped off by employees.
“People who are reputable and hold senior positions are coming forward and saying that there is a very real risk that apprentices and trainees will be cut from this year’s budget and subsequent budgets,” he said.
“Council can end all of this today with one simple statement. No forced redundancies and funding apprentices and trainees for the years to come.”
In response Mayor Helen Blackburn said the Member for Bundaberg is playing political games in the lead up to the State Election.
“His scare tactics and negativity are not helpful for our council staff or our community,” she said.
While there has been no confirmation on jobs, one part of the budget has been revealed.
Select development fees will be reduced with the aim of building more housing stock in the region.
In this week’s ordinary meeting Council adjusted fees relating to material change of use and operational works after they were benchmarked against other regional areas.
Mayor Helen Blackburn said ensuring the Bundaberg Region was seen as a welcoming and desirable location to invest was critical to its future.
“We already have the location, we already have the lifestyle – keeping our development fees comparable to other Council areas is one additional way we can ensure developers maintain interest in investing in our region,” Mayor Blackburn said.
“The reduced fees will encourage more homes to be built, which is what we need to ease the housing crisis.
“A number of our development fees were benchmarked against other Councils which identified that some of our fees were relatively high and they have now been reduced to ensure we remain an attractive place to invest and are more comparable to other areas in regional Queensland.
“The region has experienced high development activity in recent years and we’ve seen the positive flow-on effects that this has created, including a huge boost to jobs in construction and associated industries, so let’s ensure we maintain that momentum.”
The fee change is applicable from 1 July 2024.
