Mayor’s View – 9th October, 2008
We are in the middle of the peak time for activity in the Cassowary Coast Region. The weather is at its best – festivals are occurring, the sugar industry is at its most active stage of the year, tourists abound.
One of our region’s main tourist attractions, Mission Beach, has recorded a 34% increase in numbers in September, 2008, compared to September, 2007.
The Ma:Mu Canopy Walk’s early figures point to it being a huge success, over 2,000 visitors per week. Whilst a high Australian dollar encourages tourists, including Australians, to holiday outside Australia, the Australian dollar has significantly declined in the last quarter and our tourist numbers have responded.
Similarly returns to canegrowers and millers are on the improve despite world wide concern about financial instability. This region continues with high economic growth and vacancies outstripping job seekers.
We still face the problem of our ageing infrastructure and insufficient reserves set aside for their replacement. I am confident that the State Government will assist. After all their own Queensland Treasury Corporation assumptions are that the State Government addresses three of the five pre requisites for our Council to progress from its present financial position. (The other two assumptions/prerequisites are in the control of Council and will be met by Council).
The present world wide credit crisis is being baled out with public money going to private recipients. In my opinion this kind of paternalism is not an appropriate use of public money. The private business interests that created the crisis through inappropriate business practices and unchecked regulations, should bear the costs, not the taxpayer. It is not for Government to compensate for bad private business decisions.
This situation compares with the remarks that I have made before that the Cassowary Coast Regional Council should not be compensated for bad decisions in the past, notwithstanding that there is no element of private gain from any assistance.
Any assistance to the Cassowary Coast Regional Council should be through existing funding channels and the assumptions made by Spearitt (Orion Consulting) Queensland Treasury Corporation and ‘de Chastel’ in modelling our future, that the State Government will assist, are more than assumptions, they are prerequisites. The Cassowary Coast Regional Council is not financially viable unless the assumptions become reality – it is that simple.
Overall we have far more to be thankful for than we have to fear. The Mission Beach Aquatic Festival last week was very successful and the weather kept fine. The Karnivale commenced this week and will run for a fortnight. The year of the volunteer may be seven years ago, but festivals can’t occur without the dedication of hundreds of volunteers and we are fortunate to have many people keen to assist others and work for the benefit of the community, and in particular for the festivals.