The hypocrisy of the Newcastle Labor Councillors

The hypocrisy of the ALP councillors was on full display as they continued to hammer the Lord Mayor during this month’s council meeting. This time it was for a “broken promise” to keep rates from rising.

Rates have risen to cover the big spending items that blew out under the previous council and their spending commitments which are now locked in Financial commitments for unfinished, big spending items and costly repair work.

1. The Art Gallery originally budget when first mooted in 2012 was for $21M. It has blown out to around $60M for construction, design costs, artwork storage, mine grouting etc and it will no doubt continue to rise.

2. The South Newcastle Beach Skate Park, quoted in 2020 to cost of $11.7M. Although the actual total cost is still unknown, it would appear to be in the order of $25 million. It was built in a location prone to severe weather conditions and is currently under repair.

3. Newcastle Ocean Baths Stage One was approved by council for $12.457M on 26/10/21. The Contracts Register shows the cost of this contract is now up to $31.7M, although some of this money was to finish the Skate Park so its unknown exactly how much this cost. CN still has fund Stage 2 of the Baths, but the estimate for the cost of the design presented to the public for comment was never released. It will cost tens of millions.

4. The Foreshore Park Waterpark/playground. The original project cost in an early 2021 submission for NSW Govt funding, was $3.8M. After moving it to a new location in 2021 the overall cost rose to $5.5M. By Dec 2022 council was projecting a project cost of $12.8M. Councillors agreed to a $19.8million tender in Dec 2024, but this didn’t include the amenities bloc which has blown out from $2.2M to $4.4million.

5. And let’s not forget the expensive move of Staff Accommodation to Stewart Ave. The fit-out rose from $7M to $17.6M without IT costs included and now ratepayers will paying nearly $4M per year in lease costs and outgoings which will total in the order of $120M over the next 25 years.

The Lord Mayor, Dr Kerridge has a tough job balancing these legacy commitments along with addressing the neglected infrastructure like roadwork and footpaths.

Unlike his predecessor, he has not requested a special rate increase/s which has caused an overall increased in rates by 92% and $96 million/year since 2015.

We have no doubt that the Lord Mayor is committed to his election promise of keeping rates as low as possible, and this year, that is more than CPI but it is far less than in the past.