Linda Grace & Peter Mellish with Mayor Bob Abbott on Noosa Wide

Mayor Bob Abbott was remarkably candid in a recent interview on Noosa Community Radio’s “Noosa Wide” program with Linda Grace and Peter Mellish. The hot topic was his Fundraising dinner: Abbott’s refusal to vote on the Noosa Civic stage three proposal because developer Mark Stockwell had paid $2,500 to attend Bob’s fundraising dinner. The Sunshine Coast Mayor said, “I understand the issue, but that’s the law,” implying that it was not possible for him to vote on the issue in the circumstances. Although Abbott had “refused direct donations from the development industry”, he found that every dollar raised had to be accounted for, hence the public revelation of Mark Stockwell’s indirect contribution. Abbott said, “I would prefer not to be in this position, but if I hadn’t taken the money raised in those dinners there’s a good chance that I wouldn’t be here anyway.”

When Linda asked if he should return the money in order to be able to vote on the issue, the Mayor responded that he could not afford to do so. He said, “This (campaign) has already cost me $45,000 of my own money. I’ve got to pay $10,000 per year for the next four years just to keep my job.”

He added, “I just don’t have the money. I’m not a rich person. I’m a person that has put 100% of my heart and soul into this community now for twenty-five years and I just can’t afford that sort of money. The campaign that I ran for Noosa Shire Mayor would have cost me $30,000.” He added that council candidates, unlike other political candidates, don’t receive government rebates for successful campaigns, and that only $1,000 of the $45,000 of his own money that he spent on the campaign was tax deductible.

When asked if the people of Noosa who don’t want the additional development to go ahead feel unrepresented, Mayor Abbott explained that he and Lew Brennan were only “two of thirteen votes on a council which makes decisions (on every development) from Glasshouse to Kin Kin every day”.

The Mayor also discussed the $20 transport levy to ratepayers, saying that the $3 million raised in this way to prove the council’s commitment could attract $11 for every $1 spent on Public Transport structures such as light rail systems and travel smart systems to reduce traffic congestion around schools.

On water, he described our position as, “Difficult, because we no longer have the ability to cross subsidise the difference between fixed costs and variable costs. When the total income gets close to the fixed cost, then the cost per litre has to go up. As of the end of the next financial year (2009-10) the state government will assume responsibility for water delivery in all of south east Queensland.” He added that the state government was already controlling our water restrictions.

When asked where the council stood in the current financial crisis, Mayor Abbott said, “We’re in a good position in that our loans are guaranteed and we have guaranteed income. We’re well aware of what is happening out there, and we’re trying to throw some money in to create jobs. We just got $100 million two or three months ago to inject into the community through a jobs program and the awarding of new contracts to create employment. We’ve (also) just come on board with the state government with a $600,000 green army project.”

On the question of whether or not the council will be centralised, Abbott said that he had no intention of centralising council, as this would cause loss of “individual local identity”. He added that money had been spent on video conferencing equipment to save travel time and money, and that this was working well. The Mayor has offices in Tewantin, Nambour and Caloundra, while the General Manager’s office is situated in Nambour.

With regard to the situation with the Peregian Originals live music performances and their critics, the mayor said that because of its popularity – it attracts up to 600 people each fortnight – and problems of inadequate toilets, rubbish in the streets and parking becoming impossible, noise is no longer the issue. Having said that, Bob also added that he was determined that it was not going to fail.

The Sunshine Coast Council currently caters to 330,000 shire residents, employs 3,000 staff, has a $600 million annual budget and controls assets worth $4.6 billion.