Bass MP Ken Smith Give most MPs half an opening and they’ll browbeat you about their achievements for their electorate, but Bass MP Ken Smith proves unusually modest.
By Catherine Watson
TWO weeks ago in the Bass Coast Post, Michael Whelan wrote that Bass Coast Shire was being short-changed on government funding (Never mind a bigger slice, we need a bigger pie, July 12, 2014).
The Post decided to test Mr Whelan’s claim by comparing state and federal government funding for Bass Coast with government funding for our neighbouring shires, South Gippsland and Baw Baw, for the current term of the Coalition Government.
We asked the Coalition MPs for Bass, Gippsland South and Narracan to list their major funding initiatives for the shires of Bass Coast, South Gippsland and Baw Baw respectively.
The office of the MP for Narracan, Gary Blackwood, responded the same day with a complete list of initiatives, of which the highlights were a $10 million upgrade of the Warragul railway station, $3 million for a new Warragul swimming pool and $24 million for local roads.
The office of the MP for Gippsland South, Peter Ryan, also responded promptly. Perhaps not surprisingly, given that Mr Ryan is Victoria’s deputy premier, residents of South Gippsland Shire have had a bumper time of it over the past four years.
Highlights are a new hospital at Leongatha ($20 million) and upgrades to Leongatha Secondary College ($10 million), Mirboo North Secondary College ($7.5 million) and Korumburra Secondary College ($5.6 million).
Unfortunately, the retiring MP for Bass, Ken Smith, proved less forthcoming about his achievements for his local electorate.
The Post made four requests by email and phone to Mr Smith’s office over two weeks but did not receive even an acknowledgement, and there is no list on Mr Smith’s website.
We approached the new Liberal candidate for Bass, Brian Paynter, for help but he said he was also waiting for a list of funding initiatives.
Given Mr Smith’s reticence, we had to reply on our memory of recent state government funding announcements for Bass Coast to make our comparison. As Mr Whelan predicted, it doesn’t make pretty reading.
TWO weeks ago in the Bass Coast Post, Michael Whelan wrote that Bass Coast Shire was being short-changed on government funding (Never mind a bigger slice, we need a bigger pie, July 12, 2014).
The Post decided to test Mr Whelan’s claim by comparing state and federal government funding for Bass Coast with government funding for our neighbouring shires, South Gippsland and Baw Baw, for the current term of the Coalition Government.
We asked the Coalition MPs for Bass, Gippsland South and Narracan to list their major funding initiatives for the shires of Bass Coast, South Gippsland and Baw Baw respectively.
The office of the MP for Narracan, Gary Blackwood, responded the same day with a complete list of initiatives, of which the highlights were a $10 million upgrade of the Warragul railway station, $3 million for a new Warragul swimming pool and $24 million for local roads.
The office of the MP for Gippsland South, Peter Ryan, also responded promptly. Perhaps not surprisingly, given that Mr Ryan is Victoria’s deputy premier, residents of South Gippsland Shire have had a bumper time of it over the past four years.
Highlights are a new hospital at Leongatha ($20 million) and upgrades to Leongatha Secondary College ($10 million), Mirboo North Secondary College ($7.5 million) and Korumburra Secondary College ($5.6 million).
Unfortunately, the retiring MP for Bass, Ken Smith, proved less forthcoming about his achievements for his local electorate.
The Post made four requests by email and phone to Mr Smith’s office over two weeks but did not receive even an acknowledgement, and there is no list on Mr Smith’s website.
We approached the new Liberal candidate for Bass, Brian Paynter, for help but he said he was also waiting for a list of funding initiatives.
Given Mr Smith’s reticence, we had to reply on our memory of recent state government funding announcements for Bass Coast to make our comparison. As Mr Whelan predicted, it doesn’t make pretty reading.
| South Gippsland Shire
| Baw Baw Shire
| Bass Coast Shire*
|
So much for state government funding for special projects, but how about general government grants? A look at the three councils’ budgets for 2014-15 also highlights a stark difference.
Of Bass Coast’s $67 million budget for 2014-15, $46.4 million will come from rates and just $20.5 million from other sources, principally government grants.
South Gippsland Shire Council’s total budget is smaller – just under $62 million – but it gets $26.3 million from government grants, almost 30 per cent more than we do.
The contrast with Baw Baw Shire is even starker. Their budget is $84 million, 27 per cent bigger than ours, but they get $38 million from government grants, 85 per cent more than we do.
Most of the disparity is due to the fact that about 45 per cent of Bass Coast’s 24,000 properties are holiday homes. On August 9, 2011, when the last census was held, almost half of Bass Coast ratepayers and their families were absent.
The shire still has to cater for these properties in terms of roads, paths, street lights, parks, etc, but general purpose grants from the federal government to local government are based on permanent population.
If Phillip Island goes it alone, the proportion of federal government funding for the budget will fall even further because the proportion of holiday homes on the island is close to 70 per cent.
So yes, Mr Whelan is right when he says Bass Coast is being short-changed. He wrote that rather than bickering among ourselves, we should be taking advantage of the upcoming state election to press for funding commitments from both major parties.
Alternatively, if we can just convince the government to change census night to January, when holiday home owners are in residence and the shire’s population almost trebles, we’ll be rolling in money like our neighbours in South Gippsland and Baw Baw.
COMMENTS
August 2, 2014
Congratulations on the latest article, which states starkly what most of us already knew intuitively, that we are not doing well here on state government funding.
Mr Smith’s failure to respond to your requests is hardly surprising. Even as Speaker and sitting on a 62 per cent two-party preferred vote he could not persuade the Government to properly address the urgent requirements for investment in Bass.
Bass Coast Shire should be entitled to $9 million in rates annually from the desalination plant but instead the State Government gave into this multinational company and gave away the right to collect rates. The Government should step up and pay that amount in lieu of rates.
Bass Coast has a backlog of hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure and services, accentuated by the fact that holiday houses are ignored in calculations to determine the allocation of State Government funds. The existing funding approach fails Bass Coast and we need a new one that recognises its crucial role in the state’s economy and the difficulty of servicing estates that are more spread out than in outer Melbourne municipalities.
A major economic driver in the area is tourism; however, the Government appears to operate in a fog when it comes to funding the necessary development. The recent tourism strategy again fails the area. Phillip Island Nature Parks is the State’s premier natural tourist attraction, yet the well documented bid to upgrade the Penguin Parade has been disregarded. The Island gets some three million visitors a year on roads that are not safe and cannot carry the traffic. Instead of addressing the big issues, two ministers arrived at the Nobbies to announce a $1.2 million contribution to a project labelled a “Major Tourism Expansion for Phillip Island”. While it was for a very worthwhile project it just does not cut it against what is required to maintain Phillip Island’s pre-eminence as a tourist destination.
A safe seat has done nothing for the Bass electorate. It’s time for a new voice, a Voice For Bass.
Claire Le Serve, independent candidate for Bass
July 30, 2014
I have only just read last week's Post. Really solid job on the funding comparisons with neighbouring shires. Quite the eye opener.
Linda Gordon, Wonthaggi
July 27, 2014
Thank you for doing such a comprehensive job of researching government funding for the three local shires. It’s a telling list in terms of the number of projects supported and the dollar amounts received! I’m not a great believer in the ‘what’s in it for me’ approach to politics but changes to the current funding arrangements are obviously long-overdue.
I’d like to have comments from all candidates for the seat of Bass on how they would redress the current disadvantages and how they would make things more equitable. This pre-election period is an excellent time to make clear what we want/need from our representatives at both State and Federal levels.
Anne Heath Mennell, Tenby Point
Of Bass Coast’s $67 million budget for 2014-15, $46.4 million will come from rates and just $20.5 million from other sources, principally government grants.
South Gippsland Shire Council’s total budget is smaller – just under $62 million – but it gets $26.3 million from government grants, almost 30 per cent more than we do.
The contrast with Baw Baw Shire is even starker. Their budget is $84 million, 27 per cent bigger than ours, but they get $38 million from government grants, 85 per cent more than we do.
Most of the disparity is due to the fact that about 45 per cent of Bass Coast’s 24,000 properties are holiday homes. On August 9, 2011, when the last census was held, almost half of Bass Coast ratepayers and their families were absent.
The shire still has to cater for these properties in terms of roads, paths, street lights, parks, etc, but general purpose grants from the federal government to local government are based on permanent population.
If Phillip Island goes it alone, the proportion of federal government funding for the budget will fall even further because the proportion of holiday homes on the island is close to 70 per cent.
So yes, Mr Whelan is right when he says Bass Coast is being short-changed. He wrote that rather than bickering among ourselves, we should be taking advantage of the upcoming state election to press for funding commitments from both major parties.
Alternatively, if we can just convince the government to change census night to January, when holiday home owners are in residence and the shire’s population almost trebles, we’ll be rolling in money like our neighbours in South Gippsland and Baw Baw.
COMMENTS
August 2, 2014
Congratulations on the latest article, which states starkly what most of us already knew intuitively, that we are not doing well here on state government funding.
Mr Smith’s failure to respond to your requests is hardly surprising. Even as Speaker and sitting on a 62 per cent two-party preferred vote he could not persuade the Government to properly address the urgent requirements for investment in Bass.
Bass Coast Shire should be entitled to $9 million in rates annually from the desalination plant but instead the State Government gave into this multinational company and gave away the right to collect rates. The Government should step up and pay that amount in lieu of rates.
Bass Coast has a backlog of hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure and services, accentuated by the fact that holiday houses are ignored in calculations to determine the allocation of State Government funds. The existing funding approach fails Bass Coast and we need a new one that recognises its crucial role in the state’s economy and the difficulty of servicing estates that are more spread out than in outer Melbourne municipalities.
A major economic driver in the area is tourism; however, the Government appears to operate in a fog when it comes to funding the necessary development. The recent tourism strategy again fails the area. Phillip Island Nature Parks is the State’s premier natural tourist attraction, yet the well documented bid to upgrade the Penguin Parade has been disregarded. The Island gets some three million visitors a year on roads that are not safe and cannot carry the traffic. Instead of addressing the big issues, two ministers arrived at the Nobbies to announce a $1.2 million contribution to a project labelled a “Major Tourism Expansion for Phillip Island”. While it was for a very worthwhile project it just does not cut it against what is required to maintain Phillip Island’s pre-eminence as a tourist destination.
A safe seat has done nothing for the Bass electorate. It’s time for a new voice, a Voice For Bass.
Claire Le Serve, independent candidate for Bass
July 30, 2014
I have only just read last week's Post. Really solid job on the funding comparisons with neighbouring shires. Quite the eye opener.
Linda Gordon, Wonthaggi
July 27, 2014
Thank you for doing such a comprehensive job of researching government funding for the three local shires. It’s a telling list in terms of the number of projects supported and the dollar amounts received! I’m not a great believer in the ‘what’s in it for me’ approach to politics but changes to the current funding arrangements are obviously long-overdue.
I’d like to have comments from all candidates for the seat of Bass on how they would redress the current disadvantages and how they would make things more equitable. This pre-election period is an excellent time to make clear what we want/need from our representatives at both State and Federal levels.
Anne Heath Mennell, Tenby Point